Busy day at School!

Abhay started day care from yesterday and though it was him who was being sent to after-school care, I was going through ‘separation anxiety’! Since Abhay’s school is only for half a day and I plan to get back to work soon, I decided to enrol him into an after school program. Of course, he can always come back straight home to his grandparents (a Godsend support structure for any working mom), but I didn’t see anything wrong in having him spend his afternoons in a structured set up, in the same school where he spends his mornings!  Besides, this would also prep him for a full day school that he is scheduled to attend from the next academic year. Having said that, right before I dropped him off the school bus, I had second thoughts about whether to send him or have him come home in the afternoon like he used to for the last three years! Though it was conscious a decision on my part to send him anyways, I must admit that, afternoons are not the same without my baby at home! I hate to say it….but I do miss receiving him at the bus stop in the afternoon along with other pre-school moms, nagging him over finishing his lunch, cuddling up to him with a book just before his afternoon nap and watching him fall asleep in the light of the afternoon sun! As far as Abhay is concerned, since many of his classmates attend the same day care, he didn’t have any complaints. A part of me is relieved that he seemed to have got on well with the new arrangement, and another selfish part of me is sad to see his dependence on me decline!  As our kids grow up, it is important for us let them go and watch them fly ….which I now feel is easier said than done! :-)

Today being a busy day at school, I read “Busy School” by Melanie Joyce and illustrated by Sue King, a Ladybird publication. It is Cilla’s first day at school and she is experiences what is known as “first day nerves”! However, as soon as she enters her class, she feels reassured by her teacher Miss Miller who helps her settle into her new environment. Miss Miller helps her find a place next to Annie and Viv who both greet her cheerfully. As the day progresses, Cilla begins to feel at ease as they move from Math to playtime and then to story time, when Cilla feels uncomfortable in the presence of a noisy Freddie. But soon she and Freddie are friends and all’s well that ends well. This book features the highs and lows of Cilla’s first day at school - something I guess Abhay could easily relate to as it was his first day at daycare too.