Sean starting school: Day 2
Day 2 of school was a mixed bag of emotions for both Sean and me.
Foops and I decided only I would accompany him to school today. When we got to class, all the parents were strongly encouraged to drop off their kids and just 'disappear'. Sean was fine so I handed him over to his teachers and ducked outside.
Today, they started the day with morning assembly for all the nursery classes. Maybe the kids were a little less blur and more attuned to what was going on because one by one, they started crying. Even the ones who were fine yesterday.
It was like a major cry fest. Quite a comical sight actually if your kid wasn't one of the many crying ones!
Of course, Sean got very affected and started calling for 'Mummy, Mummy!' too.
I went to soothe him for a bit but when he started clinging to me and insisting I sit with him, I firmly told him I had to leave but I will see him after class. I plonked him unceremoniously next to his Chinese teacher (who had her hands full with two other crying kids) and bolted.
He screamed and tried to chase after me, of course, but his Lao Shi held on tight to him and assured him I would come back for him later.
It was extremely heart-wrenching to bear. Sigh, while he was crying his little heart out, I was crouching in a corner and crying too ;(
Next time I peeped, Lao Shi was carrying him right at the back while everyone was singing songs together. He was sobbing quietly, asking for Mummy still and... missing his shoes!
He was back to his happy self again back in the classroom, jumping around and playing with toys, etc. Still barefoot, but at least not making a ruckus anymore.
I popped my head in for a look-see every now and then. He cried a bit during snack time and kept asking one of the teachers to 'bao-bao' (she didn't give in) and where Mummy was.
I think she managed to distract him with a bowl of cornflakes and he didn't make a peep after, haha :)
While in hiding, I caught up with some of the other parents who had kids in the same class. We were all laughing and commiserating how hard - especially for the mothers - it was to see our kids upset and not being able to do anything about it!
Good thing the teachers had the classroom doors closed so we couldn't just walk in and swoop in to 'save' our offspring ;)
We were told to wait outside the school gates for dismissal after that. A good call because we didn't get in the way of the teachers doing their job and dismissal was a lot faster and less chaotic than the first day.
Hmm, I actually felt quite redundant all morning!
Sean was none the worse for wear. As the bus aunty was escorting him to the bus, he spied me from afar and chirpily shouted 'Mummy!'. So cute.
We had a nice bus ride home where I asked what he did in class and he told me he puyao chuan xie (didn't want to wear shoes) when I asked him why he wasn't wearing shoes earlier.
I also explained that neither Papa nor Mummy would be accompanying him on the bus or to school anymore after today. He clung to my arm and gave me his manja puppy dog eyes but he seemed to understand.
Well, the real test comes tomorrow when he will be entirely on his own!
Foops and I decided only I would accompany him to school today. When we got to class, all the parents were strongly encouraged to drop off their kids and just 'disappear'. Sean was fine so I handed him over to his teachers and ducked outside.
Today, they started the day with morning assembly for all the nursery classes. Maybe the kids were a little less blur and more attuned to what was going on because one by one, they started crying. Even the ones who were fine yesterday.
It was like a major cry fest. Quite a comical sight actually if your kid wasn't one of the many crying ones!
Of course, Sean got very affected and started calling for 'Mummy, Mummy!' too.
I went to soothe him for a bit but when he started clinging to me and insisting I sit with him, I firmly told him I had to leave but I will see him after class. I plonked him unceremoniously next to his Chinese teacher (who had her hands full with two other crying kids) and bolted.
He screamed and tried to chase after me, of course, but his Lao Shi held on tight to him and assured him I would come back for him later.
It was extremely heart-wrenching to bear. Sigh, while he was crying his little heart out, I was crouching in a corner and crying too ;(
Next time I peeped, Lao Shi was carrying him right at the back while everyone was singing songs together. He was sobbing quietly, asking for Mummy still and... missing his shoes!
He was back to his happy self again back in the classroom, jumping around and playing with toys, etc. Still barefoot, but at least not making a ruckus anymore.
I popped my head in for a look-see every now and then. He cried a bit during snack time and kept asking one of the teachers to 'bao-bao' (she didn't give in) and where Mummy was.
I think she managed to distract him with a bowl of cornflakes and he didn't make a peep after, haha :)
While in hiding, I caught up with some of the other parents who had kids in the same class. We were all laughing and commiserating how hard - especially for the mothers - it was to see our kids upset and not being able to do anything about it!
Good thing the teachers had the classroom doors closed so we couldn't just walk in and swoop in to 'save' our offspring ;)
We were told to wait outside the school gates for dismissal after that. A good call because we didn't get in the way of the teachers doing their job and dismissal was a lot faster and less chaotic than the first day.
Hmm, I actually felt quite redundant all morning!
Sean was none the worse for wear. As the bus aunty was escorting him to the bus, he spied me from afar and chirpily shouted 'Mummy!'. So cute.
We had a nice bus ride home where I asked what he did in class and he told me he puyao chuan xie (didn't want to wear shoes) when I asked him why he wasn't wearing shoes earlier.
I also explained that neither Papa nor Mummy would be accompanying him on the bus or to school anymore after today. He clung to my arm and gave me his manja puppy dog eyes but he seemed to understand.
Well, the real test comes tomorrow when he will be entirely on his own!