Hayley goes to school

The first week of 2011 was a tiring week for me as well as for Hayley. My little baby is finally off to school. Looking at her in her school uniform sort of reminded me how quickly time flies. It was just like days ago that she was still in diapers, crawling and seeking my attention. Today she's all grown up, independent, brave and adventuring a new chapter in her life.

Sending her to school even before she touched 3 was a decision that papa and I made together. Observing how outspoken and outgoing she was, we knew she wanted to have friends and to play with them. Sending her to school will also be much better than her spending lots of time in front of the TV. Moreover, she has been asking about school since she was 2.

It has been a week since she started schooling. I was probably more anxious than her the night before her very first day. Lots of worries came to mind - will she cry - will she be ok on her own - will she drive the teachers up the wall with her activeness - will she dislike school - will she bully her friends or will they bully her etc etc.

The first day
Waking her up in the morning wasn't as bad as I thought. We gave her an alarm clock and taught her how to turn on and off the alarm. We taught her step by step what needed to be done to get to school on time and started reminding her several days earlier.

When we got to school, her first question as soon as we stepped into the gate was 'is this my school?'. Then on I knew she will be ok. Then we taught her where to put her shoes (there is a dedicated spot at the shoe rack with her name on it) and she was able to recognise her own name. She was also required to put her school bag in the same compartment (also with her name on it) and her drinking bottle in a dedicated place.

Then one of the teacher got her a chair and asked her to play blocks with other friends. After observing her for about 15 mins in the classroom, I stepped out and stayed outside until it ends.

After about 30 mins, many other kids started crying. Mine still didn't cry. Some cried for the whole day. Occasionally she would come to the door and check if I was still outside. Upon seeing my face, she happily went back inside to play. Other than playing with everything she could reach in the classroom, she also likes to climb upstairs (it was a double storey house) to see what was up there (classroom for 4 years olds). The teachers told me they have to constantly go up to bring her down or stopped her before she reached the top. I would occasionally peep through the window to see how she was doing and would constantly not find her in her chair. She would either be walking around or playing with other toys or fighting for toys with other kids etc.

At the end of the day I put her in a stranger's car (a dedicated uncle that will be driving her back to the babysitter's after class everyday) and she didn't even complain or cry. She asked me to follow and I told her I will but I will need to drive my own car and she said ok. I trailed uncle's car all the way to make sure she was ok. Upon reaching babysitter's place, she happily jumped out from uncle's car into babysitter's arms. She was happy.

2nd - 4th day
The rest of the days went by similarly and I didn't accompany her anymore. Teachers said she was ok and didn't cry although she did ask for me occasionally. They also said that she was more active compared to other kids, not hyperactive but just active and suggested that I reduce her sugar intake and probably consider changing her formula to something less sweet.

The babysitter also told me she was really tired upon reaching her home everyday and napped for a pretty long time. I guess even energizer bunny will run out of battery :-).

5th day
She didn't sleep well the night before and woke up pretty early and complained to me that she was tired. I asked her to stay home but she insisted on going to school. After taking half a bottle of her milk, she threw up. I asked her again to stay home but she refused. I sent her to school in an empty stomach and a heavy heart.

I went to pick her up as I didn't want her to wait 30 mins for the uncle as I knew she was tired. Teachers said she had runny nose but otherwise she was ok. She didn't have runny nose in the morning :-(. I quickly sent her to the babysitter's and told her to give her lots of rest and fluid.

I guess going to school 5 half days in a row for the first time is very taxing for a 3 year old. Hopefully she will be able to adapt quickly otherwise I will consider reducing her schooling days (hopefully I don't have to). I also knew that she will be getting sick more frequently (heard it from everyone) once she started school but wasn't expecting the bugs to hit her this quickly.

To me, the hardest part about schooling is explaining to her why she won't need to go to school on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays as well as asking her to stay away from Zac whenever she was unwell.