So Noah started his second year of formal education last Tuesday, and let me just tell you how relieved I am that we didn’t have a repeat of last year’s saga, where I wondered if he would ever enjoy going to school. (If you don’t know/remember what happened, read about his first day of school where he was all smiles, then about his first week in school that was full of tears, and lastly, about how he finally stopped crying after slightly more than a month.)
His school started a day later than most other schools last week, and I’m glad we had that extra Monday to hang out together. I brought him for a back-to-school haircut, but C wasn’t too pleased with it, as he thought Noah looked quite ‘toot’. Oh well, his hair will grow back soon!
Getting his hair cut
Noah seemed fine whenever we talked about going to school again, although it seemed to rattle him a little whenever I reminded him that he would have new teachers and classmates this year. C told me not to talk about it anymore, and just let him figure it out himself when he started school, but I thought it would come as less of a shock if I prepared him a little for it. Anyway, Noah started getting a little teary before we left for school that morning, but managed to fake a smile when I took a wefie with him.
Fake smile for the camera
When we got to school, his eyes filled with tears as he kept telling me that he wanted to be with me instead, and he refused to even acknowledge his teachers and friends. He clung to my leg, and buried his face in my dress, which really reminded me of the struggles we had when he started school last year. Finally, I made him a deal: I would walk with him to his classroom, but he had to be brave and say goodbye to me once we got there. Thankfully, he kept his promise, and even though he was still teary, he managed to wave goodbye to me when I left his classroom.
I was half-expecting him to be in tears when I picked him up after school, especially since I could hear and see a couple of other kids sobbing away. To my surprise, he peeked out from behind his teacher with a wide smile, and came running happily towards me. That freaked his teacher out, because she still didn’t recognise any of the parents, and they had to check our passes before releasing the children to us. He was really happy (and hungry), and chattered away cheerfully on the car ride home. It was such a relief to see him smiling again!
All smiles at home before his nap
The next morning, I made sure we spent some extra time doing activities that Noah chose, which included painting with his Do-a-Dot markers, and practising his scissors skills. He went to school happy, and I think it really made a difference to him that he got to do some “fun things” before going to school. Over the next few mornings, we worked on completing a Lego set, and reading some of his favourite books. It did mean that we were sometimes a little late for school, but at least he was smiling when we got to school, and no longer clung to me.
Painting
Cutting
With his Lego set
I was also quite amused that he would make the effort to carefully tuck Tiger into bed before he left for school every morning, telling him things like, “I’ll be back soon, okay? You just sleep here, and I’ll come back after I go to school. I love you! Sweet dreams!” When we returned from school, he would rush to check on Tiger, then hug him tight as he snuggled with me to take his nap. I’ve become his favourite pillow, but I’m not really going to complain about it, because who knows when he will decide that he doesn’t need mummy when he naps anymore?
Tiger is apparently taking a nap
Napping with mummy and Tiger
It’s been a pretty good first week back at school, and hopefully, Noah will continue enjoying himself there. He still doesn’t know the names of his classmates, despite us asking him to find out, but at least he’s playing well and having fun! Here’s to a great year in Nursery Two. 🙂
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