Today Oskar attended for the first time the pre-school Caelum Junior. We selected this pre-school among the millions available in Singapore because it was nearby, small and we had a good feeling about it. Hopefully our guts are right.
The day started bad with Oskar making a huge scene when I removed his socks. Yesterday we bought him new shoes because the old ones broke and he got blisters. We should have known that this could happen but we did not think. Oskar got his first blisters and it burnt when we put him in the water for the bath. We ended up showering him so it would not hurt but then he did not want to wear his usual pajama so we tried one of the new ones with socks so he would not get cold. Eventually he fell asleep but this morning, when I took them off, I unleashed hell.
Eventually he calmed down, took his breakfast and soon enough we were changing him in his school uniform. Yes, in Singapore, kids wear uniforms as of 18 months. Looking at him in his uniform, it was both very cute and scary to think that our baby is now going to school. Time flies.
We are doing a soft transition which means today I stayed with him the whole morning. It was a good idea to get him used to the place with his safety net and at the same time give us an idea of what happens during the time at school.
The Playgroup group is a group of 8 kids. 3 of them are already 3 year-old... the kids born in January who have to wait the next school year to start (sounds familiar?). Obviously they are more independent than Oskar. Oskar is the youngest yet the tallest. That's funny to see him a head taller than the other kids.
The morning started with the Chinese module. Basically the Chinese teacher came in, had the kids sat on the map and started to speak Chinese for an our or so. She was showing things on books so I could encourage Oskar to go check them out but it was really hard for both of us to figure out what was happening. I was also expecting something more interactive based on our experience with the French lessons. I guess my expectations were too high.
Once Chinese lesson was done, there was some playtime with cubes which Oskar seemed to enjoy. At least he left me to play with the cubes.
Outdoor play was probably the part he enjoyed the most as he could play with the cars and bikes outside.
I guess it will take a bit of time for him to get used to this new environment.
From my side, I had a bit of a shock when I saw how they changed diapers. I wondered why on the list of items to provide, only diapers were mentioned. No cream or wipes. Now I know why. They change diaper standing. If it's only pee, no wipe, no cream. They just remove the wet diaper and replace with a fresh one. Now if it's poop, the poor kid is in for a full shower. One kid pooped and he ended up naked in the bathroom getting a shower. I can understand that it's easier for them to wash vs. using wipes, but why a full shower? with shampoo and everything?
I know it's Asia and things are different but I was not prepared for that one. At least, we can chose whether or not we want them to wash his hair or not.
The other surprise was lunch. Menu of the day was some rice soup with tofu. Oskar ate the rice but not the tofu. What can I say, he is our son :) I do feel that it was not much food in the end but that's maybe because he did not eat much because he was very distracted. We will have to keep an eye on whether he gets hungry at the end of the day.
After lunch, there was some playtime while they shower the kids before nap. We skipped the shower for today, We will try tomorrow.
Around 12:15, we left and walked back home.
Getting him to nap was difficult but afterwards he was our cut little boy.
Getting him to sleep at night was super difficult as he cried for no apparent reason.
I hope this is just a transition phase and that we have not completely messed up our cute sweet little boy.
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