Meeting the Teachers

PG2 Table

I had the opportunity to meet with Nathan's teachers during the school's bi-yearly parent-teacher meeting. I love to hear about what he's been up to in school, since that's a side of him that I do not get to see. The last time we got to meet the teachers was about 2 months back, when Nathan 'graduated' from the infant class. Thus far, he's been in playgroup for about 2 months. Transiting from infant group to play group took a little getting used to. The routines were different, they took their naps in a different room, and they are expected to be more independent. Nathan took about a month to settle down. Thankfully, he was still able to nap well despite the new environment, and continues to eat well in school. A few of his friends 'graduated' as the same time as him. So I guess having familiar faces around helped.

Nathan's pigeon hole with loads of purple diapers

Teacher Nor shared that two of Nathan's favourite activities in school is cooking and sand play. I'm not surprised that he likes cooking, since he loves to eat. But I didn't quite expect him to enjoy sand play, since he didn't really like getting his hands dirty, and is pretty fastidious when it comes to mess. I shared that it is so much joy when I see Nathan being able to do something new... things that he picked up from school. Like saying 'please', holding his pencil properly, attempting to sing 'baa baa sheep', and counting from 1 to 10. Also shared that when we ask Nathan 'what number', he always says '2', and when we ask him 'what colour', he always responds with 'purple'. And teacher Nor says she thinks Nathan likes purple (for now), cos that's also the first colour he picks when he's asked to colour a picture. She thinks it might be because of his purple diapers. Ha! As to learning things like holding his pencil correctly, counting etc, teacher Nor believes that Nathan likes to be praised. She praises Nathan when he does it correctly, doesn't force him if he decides that he's not ready to try, but encourages him to, when he's ready. 

Like most kids, Nathan likes knowing in advance what's going to happen next, so the routine in school helps. Teacher Nor says that Nathan knows the routines very well, and is sometimes ahead of her. Mommy's proud of my little boy.

One of Nathan's quirks is that he doesn't like it when his friends touch him. An accidental nudge, or a light tap on his arm... and he'd go "PAIN"! Very funny to watch.

Chen lao shi shared that Nathan has not attempted to speak Mandarin as yet, but is able to take instructions very well. He'd also participate during Chinese lessons, responding with actions/animal sounds etc. I hope that he'd not have as much trouble with the language as I did.

All in all, it sounds like Nathan has settled down well in play group, and is enjoying his time in school. Ms Angela says that the next thing we can look forward to is the school's annual concert. That'll be fun to watch. :)