At 6:30 a little head popped up beside me in bed.
"Mum. It's school day today!"
Really, I'm pretty lucky he woke that late!
But thus began the interminable wait for 8:15, when the Little Big Fella could finally say "it's time to go, Mum!"
We took the obligatory photos, and a couple of videos (oh shoot! I haven't sent those to Grandma yet! Sorry Grandma! They're coming as soon as I've posted this!).
I took several hundred photos (I love multi-shot!) but still couldn't get a single one with both eyes open! Sheesh!
Side note: don't you think it's crazy that a school with a black and yellow colour scheme specifies white socks in their uniform???? Seriously? Have you ever had a child who can keep anything white clean???
Anyway, following in my own mum's footsteps, I'd decided that the Little Big Fella would make his own school lunch from day 1. So the afternoon before, he made his sandwiches (one with jam and one with honey), put some fruit and yoghurt and some snacks into his lunchbox and put it in the fridge, ready to go in the morning.
Obviously he needed a little help, but even in the four days that he's been going so far, he's significantly improved! And I can see a day in the very near future where I won't be wanted or needed for lunch-making at all!
My mum is a very smart woman :-D
Amazingly, the Big Fella wasn't working until well after school started on the first day so the three of us walked (a whole block!) to school, with the Little Big Fella just about jumping out of his skin with excitement!
As we got closer to the school, the Little Big Fella's hand found its way into mine and I realised he was getting a little nervous, probably because of the large number of people hanging around.
But we found where to put his bag and books, then found and put on his name badge. His teacher said good morning and the Little Big Fella responded without doing his faux-shy act.
Then we spotted his best friend and life was brilliant from that point on. Another friend who will be in their classroom but is in Grade 1 (it's a composite Grade Prep/1/2 class) was asked to help them get settled.
The first bell went and minor chaos ensued. Kids were running everywhere, parents were saying goodbye, teachers and helpers were trying to direct everyone to the right place...
The Little Big Fella gave us hugs and kisses and then he was inside, sitting on the mat beginning his learning career.
And I was so immensely proud of him! He took to it like a duck to water. He wasn't afraid. He overcame his brief nervousness. What more could a Mummy ask for?
And because I knew he was okay, I was okay too. How could I not be okay when I was so proud?
Throughout the day I often wondered what he was up to and what he was learning and who he was playing with and if he had enough food and if he was still okay. And when it got to 2 o'clock I started to get excited! Only half an hour before I could go and pick him up and hear his stories and find out what he'd loved about school.
And he did love it! He'd done some drawing, and he'd written his name, and he'd played with his friends. He showed me the magnet toys in his classroom (ironically, he'd loved playing with those at Super Carer's place when he was so much littler), and where his table was with his name on it.
How could a mother's heart not melt?
After all the loooooooonnnnnnnggggg nights, the hard days, the tears, the struggles, and the laughter, the fun, the games, the highs... we have reached one of the points of evaluation of parenthood and we've done our job - our boy is ready for school and therefore this stage of life without us. Good job parents! :-D
We have just finished our first week (four days) of school. We're a bit tired and overwhelmed by the changes this new life is bringing. So Friday after school was party pie and movies time.
But we've seen our son super-excitedly showing us how he can write his own name (you could basically read it too!). We saw some of his classwork (including a piece about the class rules, where his response was something along the lines of "class rules keep us safe otherwise we'd be dead"). We've learned about "mat manners" and the importance of doing what your teachers tell you. And we found out there's a fridge to put his lunch and drink bottle in.
It's been a huge week! And the coming weeks are going to be just as big, with the start of swimming (both through the school and privately), Kindysports, tuckshop, P&C meetings, and Show and Tell.
It's exhausting, but it's also kind of fun and definitely exciting too. And watching the Little Big Fella grow in such a short time is amazing! I'm loving this new stage of our lives.
No comments:
Post a Comment