Baby's First...

Yesterday marked another milestone in Baby’s life. He attended formal school for the first time. Long before yesterday, we were already all excited about it. The first time we brought his uniforms home, there were endless fittings after that. When we bought his shoes, there were fittings again – all by Baby himself, who seemed to be more excited than we are.

We had a hard time coaxing him out of sleep. His time is at 8:00 in the morning. And of course we wanted to make it on time or even a bit early. I got a bit worried when he cried and cried and keep saying, “Gusto ko tulog, Nanay!” hehehe really cute of him. But eventually he quieted down especially when he noticed Janin all dressed up and ready for school. We had a hard time feeding him breakfast though since he just had his bottle.

Nonetheless, we arrived in Ateneo early. His classroom was still closed. So we spent some time waiting for the teacher to come. We went to the library to check if he could spend some time there but changed our mind. We were thinking we might have difficulty prying him away from there when it is already time. When we got back to his classroom, the teacher was already there, coaxing the “babies” inside. Well, they were still practically babies at 3 to 4 years old – teeny-weeny, little human beings :) Some were in there school uniforms such as Baby was while some were in their casual wear.

I felt proud and relieved when Baby entered the classroom without hesitation. His voice was barely audible though when he answered his teacher who asked his name. I felt that we were able to prepare him very well for the experience. There were some babies who refused to enter the classroom even if the parent volunteers to accompany them inside.

Baby appeared very shy, barely responding when the teacher asked them to raise hands, clap their hands, etc. He would mimic the actions but his hands would remain in his lap. For the first part, he had been like that. But he was able to follow instructions well. They were taught how to carry their chairs silently; get, prepare, and return their playmats; wash their hands; use the spoon properly; and string some beads. Yeah, all that in two and a half hours time. There were only 7 of them after all, as it was still their orientation period.

Their whole section was divided into groups for different orientation sessions over the period of one week. So for this week, Baby’s sked was only that of Monday.
Actually, based on the alphabetical order of their surname’s, Baby’s sked should have been Tuesday. But, since I have a training and be lodged in Eden, I asked the teacher to move his sked to Monday so I would be there. Luckily, we were accommodated.

Next week, they will have another two-day session. That, and another session on Friday that all pupils in their section will be present. A week thereafter – on June 22 – will be the start of their regular classes.

So anyway, I got a bit concerned noticing Baby’s “shyness.” But later on, his confidence seem to grow by the minute. Then come the feeding time. Level one pupils were given free snacks. I was amused when I noticed they were being served munchkins. Another good thing about it is that it is his favorite flavor, “butterchoco” or something. That chocolate flavored munchkin sprinkled with orangy “dust.” Anyway, they were first asked to form in line, to take turns washing their hands. They were taught how to do it properly. Then, they were asked to get their placemats and carry them to their place on the table. When all the kids were seated, the teacher then proceeded to give them their share of iced tea, and munchkins. Each was given plates on which their munchkins were placed. They were given one munchkin each.

The funny thing was, when the teacher asked who wants some more munchkin, Baby – earlier, very shy Baby – immediately raised his hand. Haha! And he did it quite enthusiastically, no trace of shyness whatsoever. It was Tatay and I, looking on, who felt a bit ashamed haha! We were both so amused by it. And then, Baby did it again for the second time. He consumed a total of three munchkins in all. Haha!

After that, Baby began to grow more comfortable with the other kids and the teacher. In fact, at one point, he so boldly took the puppet used by the teacher… It was very much a satisfying experience. I felt truly grateful that everything went on smoothly…

The night before, we had prayed as one family – Tatay, Baby and I. We acknowledged that Baby’s first day in school is such an important milestone in his life. We thanked God for it. At the same time, we fervently prayed that it be a start of a good experience for Baby, outside of the home. We prayed that he’d be safe, protected from bullies, learn to love learning, learn about life, gain lasting friendships, have the best “teachers” that would be instrumental in his growth as the best person that he could be…

Yeah, it is only pre-school but it marked the first step of Baby’s journey outside of the home. This time, he will not only be learning from me or from his Tatay. He will be learning about a lot of things, about relationships outside of the family… It is a very important event and we certainly need God’s guidance and blessings...