Starting Grade R

image

A bit late but hey…

So this year my Danny boy started Grade R, and what an adjustment it has been for me. Danny has taken to school like a duck to water, no problems and settling in nicely.

That’s the great thing about having a friendly and sociable little boy, making friends has been easier for him than most other kids and despite knowing 2 other children in the school he hasn’t stuck to them but branched out. I love that about him.

The school he attends only has Grade R’s, there are 2 English classes (20 kids per class) and 4 Afrikaans classes. It’s a feeder to a great Primary School in the area that we’re hoping Danny can attend.

The thing about where we’re based in the North is that there isn’t much of a variety when it comes to schools and we’re bound by the 2 schools in our areas, thankfully we fall in the direct feeder areas of both and they’re equally awesome schools.

Ok… So getting back to Danny…

image

We were a bit anxious in the days leading up to the start of school for a few reasons:

1.     New school, new friends, new routine and a new teacher (the one he had spent an orientation day with and we talk about a lot during the festive period resigned so we actually knew nothing about his new teacher)

2.     Having the boys adjust to being apart for 9 hours a day, this did in fact rear its head with the baby who cried and cried and cried for the first 2 weeks but has since settled back into his routine at crèche

3.     Leaving earlier and coming home later (my kids are stars hey, we’re up between 05:30 – 06:00am daily, out of the house at 06:55am and home at 17:50pm and they are coping)

The great thing is that Danny is at the aftercare / holiday care centre at the same school so in fact he was enjoying holiday care a week prior to Grade R actually starting which assisted in him adjusting so well to his new environment (side note – kids are so resilient and parents, me, definitely don’t give them enough credit).

First day of school officially arrived and Danny was beside himself with excitement, he couldn’t wait to meet his new teacher and start doing “BIG BOY” things. If you have ever had the great fortune of meeting little Danny you would know, this kid is smart, sharp, eager to learn new things. We arrived at 07:30am and walked Danny to his class where we met his teacher, saw where the bags are hung up, where his desk was, even till his spot on the wall where all his art would go, she was friendly, gentle, creative and exactly the kind of teacher my boy would grow with. However, imagine my heart sinking when Danny turned to say, “Ok you can go now Mommy”. My boy was / is all grown up, not a baby anymore, not a little boy, this is the start to a long long journey and one I am so excited to take with Danny.

image

This is week 2 at school and things are still going great, he reports back his day the minute he jumps into the car in the afternoons (from when I drop him, every activity, who he played with, what he learnt, what was discussed in class, what music the teacher played, when he went to the bathroom, everything!).

I hope your first day of school went as great as ours!

Till Later
LT

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

error: Content is protected !!