3 stars!

The boy got 3 stars (the maximum) in the body parts oral assessment test(!). I am curious to know what was asked and what he answered.

He has picked up rhymes. Incy Wincy Spider, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Baa Baa Black Sheep. He hums the tune saying the words occasionally with actions.

Brownies and park

Polished off 2 brownies on his own. That was his lunch!

The boy finds it difficult to stay indoors and wanted to be taken out to the park. Last night I took him to the park at 830, he played in the sand, walked and when it was time to give him a bath, he wanted to sit in the bucket. Exhausted he slept. Which was good – he did not wake up crying in the night

No school

The fever has subsided but he still has a cold. So no sending him to school for the past 2 days.

Ever since he started going to school, the boy continues to cry in the nights. Starts at 1 or 2 am and goes on for 30 to 45 minutes. At first we thought it was nightmares but no. Looks like this is a phase.

Fever

The boy is down with fever and cold today and we did not send him to school. He did remind us specifically in the morning twice – ‘no skool’. He refused to take Crocin and we had to force it down his throat.

Shoes

New sandals for the boy yesterday. He wants to wear them with "shocks" as they "kuthu" him otherwise.

The boy's pairs so far

Today morning the wife spent some time preparing a family tree for the boy’s book. A very bad day after school simply because the wife refused to carry him to the park and insisted he walk. The boy threw the biggest tantrum. Cried and cried, put both his hands inside his mouth, coughed and cried more. He finally sat in the bouncer and went off to sleep.

Behavior

The boy has become more expressive. Says “kuthu” (poke) when the dress or anything in the bed bothers him. He expresses his no very strongly and coolly. A the Nanny hears most of the no. The boy openly tells her not to come with him to the park. 
The morning offer of oats is treated with disdain and he prefers dosa and chapatis. Raisins are always an exception. On some days he does not eat at home and finishes the 2 dosas/chapatis packed.

Happy after school

For the first time, the boy was happy after school today. It was crying all the way but when we went to pick him up, he was very cheerful.

Last night was another night of crying. He insisted on sleeping in the bouncer allowing only the wife to rock him. My talking to him/reaching out to him evoked louder crying.

Together to school

The wife and I decided to go together to drop him and pick him up. On the way we talked to him about the good things at school, meeting his friends, telling a quick hello to teacher, playing for some time and coming home soon. That seemed to calm him down.

No going to school

The wife had come out of the bedroom last night after the boy slept, to watch a TV program. Sometime later the boy woke up uncomfortable and I guess the thoughts of school came back and he started wailing. The wife rocked him for a long time (he refused to come to me). He did not sleep, she was tired and then the crying started again. I had to put the bouncer on the bed and sometime after 1 am he slept.

We did not send the boy to school today.

Throwing up

Last night the boy cried so much that he threw up dinner. He wanted to go out to the park. At 9 pm in the night. This has been happening for some nights now.

We went for dinner to Cafe Thulp. The boy had water melon juice and pita bread. Back home and I had to stick photos of the boy at his birth, on his first birthday and his first day at school in the school diary.

No "skool"

"Amma, no skool"

The boy's “no skool no skool” chant has started. Once the uniform is brought out, the crying starts. On the walk to school he is quiet as we talk about the dogs, chickens that we see on the way and the toys at school. 

Today when I went to pick him up, he ran to me and refused to let go when I lifted him. They played with clay today.

Pram to school

Today I took the pram to drop the boy. He was fine till he reached the school gate. Lifted him out of the pram, signed in and the moment he saw another girl crying he started too and refused to let go of my t-shirt. The teachers had to pry open his hand. He stayed for 2 hours today and burst out crying when he saw me at the gate. He was quiet on the way home and the crying started as soon as the pram reached the apartment gate. He wanted to continue the walk on the road but I had to get ready for work. The boy went to sleep, crying with his finger in his mouth.

That is something new he has started - putting his finger in the mouth while crying. Sometimes he puts the fingers from both his hands inside his mouth, chokes and cries even more loudly.

Full love

As soon as the boy woke up, he asked for me. Made me lie down, climbed on my and lay down on my chest, asking me to pat him and refused to get up :-)

Today he was at school for 1.5 hours. I went to pick him and when I peered through the gate he was fine and waiting. The moment he saw me, burst out crying.

Photo and second day of school

The school needed the latest passport size photo of the boy and off we went to take one. Unlike last time, he was ready and smiling. Although he did not have the patience to wait with us to collect the developed photos. He wanted to leave.

All his books (9 of them) were covered and labeled including his shoes.

The used diaper bag does not smell anymore thanks to the boy using the potty seat. What a relief! Although he does confuse us with potty and peeing.

Yesterday we went to meet my parents. The boy was given samosa with sauce (he loves tomato sauce) Picked a piece of samosa, dipped it in sauce and licked the sauce off the samosa. While we rolled our eyes and urged him to eat the piece, he kept repeating it – dipped the samosa piece in sauce and licked only the sauce. 

Second day of school today.


The boy did not have a clue when we dressed him up in the uniform. Most of the books had to be left at the school. He wanted to wear the school bag, so we took the books out. I think he got an inkling of what was coming when we reached school. He started crying as soon as we left him at the gate. He was fine till we went to pick him up after 40 minutes. The moment he saw the wife, he started crying again.

Getting the boy registered

I find it hard to believe that the boy is ready to go to school. Time flies.

The previous day the boy saw a photo of his cousin carrying a bag and he wanted it. When the wife said he is going to school, the boy wanted to go too. So the next morning, the boy started saying "kool kool", got ready early (he ate only 2 spoonful of oats) and off we went walking to the school. I had to carry him as he was taking his own sweet time to get to the apartment gate. We walked into the school, the boy was cautious and did not open up to the teachers and the assistants. He loved the ball enclosure, with plastic balls in so many different colors. We used this time to fill the forms and pay the fees. I think the children crying unsettled him a bit. The school started last Monday and the teachers say it would take upto 30 days for the children to settle down – get used to the school and the fact that the parents will not be around for 2 hours. The boy tried on the uniform and was not ready to remove it. We put him in the Playgroup class with the other children and quietly came out. 2 minutes and he started wailing, ran out looking for us. This was not looking good. More children started coming in. We had to slip out.

So this school had Playgroup, Nursery, LKG and UKG. 12 children in each class. 9 am to 11 am. Why school uniform at such a small age? I asked this question and the answer was valid. Parents have a tendency to dress up their children and when other children sees a fancy dress, they start pestering their parents for the same dress. The uniform also helps the school to keep track of the child.

It was painful to leave him behind crying and walk out. He will have to get used to it. I wonder if it is too early in his life for school. I remember starting out with school in LKG.

We went back after 30 minutes to pick up the boy and he was wailing :-( Came running to us.

Playschool finalized

We checked out another playschool today. Extremely expensive and 5km away from home passing through 2 potential traffic jam sections and decided not to go with it. 

We took the boy to the school that we had visited the day before. It was well ventilated, on the ground floor, had a watchman, CCTV, a small swimming pool, a small assembly area with a raised platform and a whole lot of toys. The boy looked comfortable and we decided to go with it. We would have put him in the place run by the aged lady, unfortunately it is on 1st floor, the classrooms are dark and there is no surveillance camera.

A note to parents – most of these playschools have an application form that cost Rs. 300/-. Buy it only if you finalize that school. One of the schools we went to, the lady in-charge started filling it out without informing us in advance and then charged us for the form.

Nose bleed

The boy fell today and had a nose bleed. He cried but is ok.

Peer pressure

Is this called parental peer pressure? 

“What, he is not in playschool yet?”

“Are you not sending him?” 

“Send him to a playschool that has higher classes, so that he can continue and get admission in 1st standard”

"XXX school is very good. Both my children and my friend's children and her friend's children attended this school"

He is not even 2!

We checked out 3 playschools today. All within walking distance. 2 of them were franchises with the standard features – school uniform, swimming pool, surveillance camera, lot of toys. I liked the 3rd one run by an aged lady.

The boy would be starting this week in one of them.