First Day At School

2 years, 3 months, 1 week & 5 days old.....

I think I should call this place a school since it's a pre-school + daycare. I took leave yesterday to send Ethan to his new school. When we entered the school, the children (around 30+ of them, age 3-6 years old) and 3 teachers have already gathered and singing some songs. I was seated with Ethan at one corner doing the registration and paying the fees. He looked at the kids with great interest and he knows some of the songs too.

The fees totalled RM1,200+, which included two months of school+daycare fee, registration fee, two sets of uniform and I can't remember what else. After completing the registration, the principal invited Ethan for breakfast. I accompanied him to the dining area where the 3&4 year-old kids have started to eat. He sat there and fed himself. I saw his teacher, a nice & sweet Chinese lady, feeding one of the girls. She looks so caring and gentle with the kids. I was a bit relieved then.

After breakfast, we adjourned to the study area outside and the teacher tried to warm up with Ethan and played puzzles with him. She thought Ethan is 3 but I told her he's only 2. Ethan was quite absorbed with the games and I sneaked out. Experts said it's not advisable to sneak out but to tell the kids that we are leaving and we will come back to pick them up. Well, it doesn't work for Ethan. I've tried that numerous times. The more I explain to him, the louder he will cry. So, whenever the opportunities arise, I choose to sneak out.

The teachers leave the school in the afternoon and the kids will be taken care by two helpers. Both of them are local and around 40+ years old. There are only 7-8 kids in the daycare session, including Ethan. I picked him up at 5.30p.m. and was told that once he realised that I was gone, he started to cry and clung to the teacher. Other than that, he was ok. The aunty was very surprised that he can feed himself and refused to be fed.

Of all the questions I asked the principal, I forgot to ask whether they are Chinese based or English based. Ethan's teacher speaks excellent Mandarin but not so good with English. So, I think they are Chinese based. Whatever it is, it is still better than being taught by foreign maids. Furthermore, since we plan to send Ethan to a Chinese school next time, it's good to expose him to the language now. My Mandarin sucks, so there is no hope for him to pick up the language at home.