This is a momentous year as my first born starts Primary 1, and I join the ranks of parents with kids in primary school. We have been looking forward to it for quite a while... We talked about the longer school days, taking part in CCAs and having money to buy his own food during recess. He was mostly excited, though slightly apprehensive. I was mostly excited, though a bit sad that my boy is growing up so quickly. The day before the first day of school, I tucked him in early to prepare for the early start. I had difficulty falling asleep myself... It almost felt like MY first day of school.
At 6am on 4 Jan 2016, I was woken up by the beeping sounds of my new old school alarm clock...
I took a shower before proceeding to wake Nathan up. He woke up in a jiffy and we got changed into his spiffy new uniform. Gosh! He looked so grown up in his new uniform. We managed a quick breakfast before driving off to school. This is a journey I will be making for the next 12 years!
The hours passed rather speedily as I sat in the canteen with other parent volunteers waiting for the boys to join us in the canteen for recess. I guessed that Nathan would end up buying chicken rice for himself and decided to buy a plate to try. It was yummy! The chicken was boneless and cut to bitesized pieces. True enough, he got himself a plate with the help of his P4 buddy. I think he might end up eating this whenever he gets a chance to buy his own meals.
The subsequent days, he got the chance to explore the other parts of the school with his buddy - the eco garden, the school library and his favourite - the playground. I'm glad he managed to navigate the library system all by himself and came home with library books that he borrowed all by himself. He has been reading quite a few books ever since school started. It seems they have quite a bit of free time during the school day as he has completed quite a number of books all by himself during the free time in school.
About CCAs... I wasn't sure if he should take up a CCA in Primary 1. And I wasn't sure if I wanted him to be put thru an audition. We shortlisted the String Ensemble as a possible CCA and they required auditions. I decided to leave it to Nathan and he was keen to try. We prepared for the audition and I figured whether he made it thru the auditions or not, it will be a valuable lesson for him. We were glad he made it thru and he's really looking forward to joining the String Orchestra.
The first week of school went by quickly and I am glad he enjoys school. There's lots more installed for him and I am excited to be walking this journey with him.