Bravo to Q, Cayden and YX! Well done!
So what about J?
He started the day raring to go. Woke up at the unearthly time of 6.40am and asked why is the sky still so dark? He was the first to arrive in school. Happily greeted the principal and teacher and went into the classroom (i went in with him since the rest of the kids were not there yet). He picked up the books and read by himself while I spoke to his teacher. Teacher was surprised that he could recognise words by sight and attempt to blend those that he didn't recognise. Chinese teacher came and he warmed up to her though he replied to her questions in English. Both teachers told me that he shouldn't have any problem adjusting.
Then the rest of the kids came and as the parents started to stream out of the classroom, some kids started crying. J also started to manja and refused to let mr bbgrace out. Told him that we would be watching him from the window. Tears started streaming down his face and the class was chaotic with crying kids. We realised that almost all the boys were crying while NONE of the girls cried. Sigh!
We decided to stay out of his sight when we realised that he actually stopped crying when we are not around. The rest of the parents also started doing the same, so it was quite a comical sight to see parents playing hide-and-seek around the school compound whenever the kids moved from classroom to toilet or to the dining room. We were unfortunate to be "caught" by him when he saw us peeping at him while he was coming out of the dining room. He ran after us while we tried to duck but to no avail. So in the end mr bbgrace and I decided to go take a walk to our new place instead to inspect the building progress
So we decided not to reappear when class ended otherwise he wouldn't board the school bus. Quite poor thing lah cos other parents all came to pick the kids but not us and I saw him crying from where i was hiding. We trailed the school bus and went on a 1 hr tour of his bus-mates' estate. He caught sight of our car from the bus while the bus made a u-turn after dropping a kid. Our instant reaction was to duck. Stoopid lah, as if he can't recognise the car. Saw him crying again but the subsequent times when he caught sight of us, he was ok. The first thing he asked when he got down the bus was why were we following him to his friends' house.
The real test comes on monday when it's a full 4 hr session (today is 2 hr only) and he knows what to expect by then. He seems quite cheerful when recounting the happenings to my maid. But then again, i wont be surprised if he starts getting manja again on monday.
My only worry is the 1 hr bus journey. Even I felt so tired following the bus. Just hope it's just a max of 6 mths that he would have to travel so far. He takes his breakfast at 7am. Snack time is 9.30am and he only get to reach home by 1.30 to 1.45pm. Imagine how tired and hungry he would be. I've asked the teacher to let him have a packet of milk b4 he boards the bus (no eating or drinking on board). Hopefully that will help ease off some hunger pangs.
folic, you've made the right choice to keep yx where she is. So far i'm happy with the school but i think logistically, it's challenging. Imagine YX having to travel the same distance for her 3 yrs there unless you all shift house
