School Report

A cold front came over in the night bringing some blessedly cool air with it. At six o’clock I woke up and ran around opening windows and doors, so the house could gulp in the freshness. Now I can finally write about something other than the weather!

The first day at school went well for my daughter. I left her after assembly, lined up to go into her classroom, a shy sideways look at me as she felt her way into this new world. At the end of the morning she had loved the stories, the drawings, the songs and of course her teacher, but breaktime was boring. She was put out that her class had to play in the area around their classroom and she couldn’t go and join her big brother and his friends. At the end of the second morning, she confided over my shoulder as I drove home, that she had made a new friend. She didn’t know her name though. The next day I was instructed not to walk her to her classroom any more.

I think she is now well on her way to being settled in. She knows her new friends’ names now, says she is friends with the whole class and can’t wait for next week, cos at school she can be with her friends. She’s looking forward to getting new books to learn writing in, doing more finger knitting to make herself a skipping rope and doing more painting. A huge sigh of relief from her parents to see the second duckling paddling confidently off into the pond.

The youngest duckling is now to be addressed. Her reluctance to start kindergarten has remained unchanged. I was going to let more time go by and hope she came round to it of her own accord. Circumstances/ the universe/ whatever seem to be pushing things along though. At the end of the first morning my son's teacher asked if I would consider some part-time teaching there. One of their class teachers can only do part-time this year, which leaves them with classes doubling up for some lessons. I’d helped out by taking my son’s class last year for reading practice and drawing , more baby-sitting than teaching and had youngest along with me then, but a cling-on creature doesn’t allow much freedom of movement in the classroom. So if I’m going to accept the teaching job, she will have to start in kindergarten, at least two mornings a week.

I’ve got a couple of weeks to ease things along. The kindergarten classes are just about to move into their new building, which wasn’t finished in time for the beginning of term, where there’ll be two age groups and I’m hoping the younger group will be a gentle start for her. It helps a little that she is finding it quite dull at home with me in the mornings, I’m on the computer, with only short periods of time to read to her and have snack with her. The separation anxiety stage that started last September has got lots better, but I guess I’m worrying that forcing a start in kindergarten will set things right back to square one.

At least worrying about her, takes the place of worrying about whether or not I can cope with a classful of seven year olds. My experience is limited to those lessons with my son's class and eight years as a mother, though that should have equipped me for quite a lot of things. I propose a motion that motherhood should be awarded at least a thousand points on any CV assessment. I’m hoping that they will mostly need me for craft and reading practice type lessons and that a firm countenance will keep all the children in order!