On Friday all the students at the boy's school spent the morning meeting their teachers for next year and visiting their new classrooms. D* will be moving on to year 3 and Rooby will be entering reception. Reception is a cross between American preschool and Kindergarten. Children start reception the school year they turn 5, school year running from Sept-July. Having a June birthday this means Rooby will start school as a young 4 year old. I was nervous about it at first but I think he's ready. We did decide that he will only go half days instead of full days like the school recommended. Aren't you worried about his academics? they asked. Umm no, he's 4, I think he can get in more than enough academics going just half days.
We arrived at the school, sent D* to his normal classroom then waited outside with all the other new reception kids (receptioners?) and their parents to see which teacher they had been assigned to. Roo was thrilled when we discovered that 3 of his friends from nursery will be in his class. At that point we were supposed to take the children to their new classroom and leave them there for 2 hours to get acquainted. We knew about this advance and had prepared Rooby but that did nothing to stop him from clinging to me when it was time for me to go. I've learned from past experiences that the best way to help him through is to sit with him while he gets used to his surroundings. The teacher was not thrilled when I told her I was not leaving him until he settled down. He sat in the class circle, calm, but with tears streaming down his cheeks, occasionally turning back to make sure I was still in the room. It was so hard for me to smile at him I just wanted to go give him a squeeze. They finished their introduction game, I gave him a hug and left. He still had tears in his eyes but I could tell he was ok with me leaving at that point.
I spent the next hour and a half wandering around a store realizing that next year I would have this time every day, not only the 3 mornings I have now. Parents seem to be divided over how they react to this. Woohoo I'll be free! Or, my baby! I'm not ready for my baby to grow up. For now I find myself in the middle. I am ready to have some daily time without kids but Roo is so little, how can I be sending such a little guy to school? I reserve the right to shed some tears of my own the first day of school.
At pick up the report was that he settled nicely and played well with a few kids, the teacher I guess not realizing he was already friends with those kids. Roo told me later that he doesn't like his classroom inside "cause there's nothing to do in there" but he does like it in the outside classroom. Great, his favorite subject is already recess.
