Tiny's First Day of School

Tiny was so freaking excited about starting Kindergarten. She was pumped. 

She rose early in the morning, got dressed, we brushed her hair to get the world's biggest knot out, did cute pigtails, packed morning tea and lunch, and then off we went. 

She was so excited she ran the length of the block to the school gate. 

Once we passed the school gate, a look of worry clouded her little face. I could see the nerves kick in, and I felt them too. I spotted some familiar faces and quickly pointed them out to her. Immediately the tension dissipated and she relaxed a little.

We walked hand in hand to her classroom (which was the Doctor's Kindy classroom) and despite the crowd of parents, found a spot at a table. The girl sitting next to her was playing and we discovered her name was Lily - Tiny's favourite name. I started chatting to her mum and the girls played, cautiously. Tiny spotted someone from daycare - and then declared: "You can go now."

De javu. I think this happened when the Doctor started school. 

So I left, after standing at the classroom door and spying on Tiny for a wee while. I didn't want to leave my wee Tiny. It hurt my heart. Finally I walked down the stairs and off into the playground where I ran into a friend, broke down - and told her not to talk to me and not to be nice to me.

I chatted a bit with some other mums, and then left the playground for the day.

In the afternoon I arrived early, got the world's best park (there's a lot of world's best here, right?), and mentally prepared myself for seeing my tiny Tiny walk out for the first time. I gathered with the other parents, and out they came - schoolbags bigger than their bodies, hats covering their faces rendering them unrecognisable unless you crouched down really low. 

I could see Tiny's shoulders. Slumped. She looked down. Once the bell rang, and she spotted me, she lit up, but only temporarily. We held hands, collected the Doctor and then she said: "This didn't turn out how I expected it."

We talked a bit and she concluded that her teacher had been cranky at the class because some children had gone missing. We talked about it a bit, I told her the first day is always the hardest and that I hoped the second day was better for her. She was so depleted. Poor Tiny.  

After devoutly wearing her school uniform all holidays, I had hopes Kindy would be amazing for her. She'd be a duck to water. 

I know it's early days, but I feel sad for my babe. Why was that teacher cranky? Why on the first day of 13 years of school? 

Second day of school and Tiny told me "it was better, but not much". 

Whoa. First Day. Year Two. Whirlwind Alert.

What happened to me? 

Happily blogging one minute - all quiet on the Western Front the next. 

Tiny starts school tomorrow. In equal parts (maybe) I'm happy because she is SO flipping excited, and then struck by grief that my babe is growing up all too quickly. I remember the day she was born. How did we get to first day jitters already? 

On her first birthday she commando crawled through the grass at the park to get her mitts (and teeny tiny new baby teeth) into a juicy nectarine. She was so full of glee. And this is how Tiny is. Keen for the next adventure.

Over the weekend she climbed into my wardrobe - which is no mean feat, it's a mess and it's small, and there's quite a bit crammed in there. I asked her to get out to no avail. Then I told her to get out, to which she replied bluntly "Mum, you're always trying to ruin my adventures."

So tomorrow will be another big adventure with tissues in hand. For me. Not for her.

And then there is the Doctor. BOOM! Straight into year two without so much as a look back. He's happy, he's confident, and in some way - this is how we want our kids. Independent. But my goodness, it definitely hurts. 

Are your smalls starting school this year? How's it going?

PS - Have you seen Moonrise Kingdom? You should. It's SUPER GREAT. Wes Anderson. SUPER GREAT!

Getting Ready For School:: 11 Tips

Tiny is starting school this year. My little Tiny starts Kindergarten in just over a week. 

Oh how it hits me with a mixture of feelings. I know I am going to feel the eight bar blues when my little girl walks through the gates, and even moreso when I have to turn and leave her there. Unbearable. I know. I'm a complete sap. 

But joyfully, Tiny is so beside-herself-happy that she's been wearing her school uniform most days - and embraces anything to do with starting school. Sneaker shopping? Yes please! New lunchbox? Awesome. It's pretty darn endearing to see her so excited. 

I've been thinking about things I did to make the start of school transition for the Doctor a little easier. It's a big change going from the cloistered and loving environment of preschool, to the oversized playground of primary school. 

Below I've created a little list of things that helped us when the Doctor started school - maybe they might help you and your little people too?

• Velcro. Velcro. Velcro. As much as I detest velcro, I learnt to embrace velcro. It saves the stress of learning to tie shoelaces. And - on a gross front, shoelaces - when in the bathrooms, can get wet with wee. No teacher - nor any child - wants to touch wee-sodden shoelaces. Plus, teachers tend not to want to tie shoelaces these days. Funny that. 

• Wear in the lunchbox. We have those Tupperware lunch boxes - but the clips on them are quite stiff if they're brand new. As our preschool teacher once told us, when you're sitting in front of the TV, open and close that sucker to make it easier to open. And then get your child to see if they can open it. If they can't - job well done. If they can't - keep going. Teachers are scarce in the playground. If they can't open the lunchbox, there's a good chance they won't get any lunch.

• Don't pack too much. There's something in us mums that means we turn into that crazy woman that thinks our child is going to starve at school. They're not. And they won't. Do not put too much food in your child's lunchbox - for two reasons. 
• Generally there's an eat before play rule, but if you pack so much in that lunchbox, your kid is going to be sitting on the bench trying to wolf down that massive picnic you packed - before they can get a chance to play. Which means not only less downtime, it means less time being able to play with their new school mates. 
• If you pack too much - chances are, it will also start to come home. In tact. And destined for the bin. Keep things simple - and it's a good idea to pack something you know they like. There's nothing like food for comfort.
  
• Spare undies. Spare socks. If your little person has an accident at school - there's a good chance the school will have spare uniforms to wear (if you can pack a spare uniform, sweet. If not, don't stress.). However - who wants to wear random communal undies? No one. And if you wet your pants, there's a high probability that your socks will be wet too. Pack some spares for the first term at least.

• Tissues. Call me crazy, but the toilets sometimes run out of toilet paper. To you, your little Kindergarten kid might be big and independent, but at school - it's daunting - and who do you call out to when there's no toilet paper? I packed tissues into the Doctor's pockets just-in-case. Trust me. 

• Send a ball. Or a skipping rope. In the first few weeks, it's tough. Your child might not know anyone, it's hard to remember names - and the playground is biiiiig. It's hard to find your friends, so if you pack a ball - like a rubber handball - they have something to play with, and chances are, other kids will want in on the sweet handball action (or skipping rope). 

• Don't ask about the day as soon as you get in the car. Don't even think about it. Those little Kindy kids are so zonked, so, so zonked, and it's hard to remember what you did during that buzz of the first day, week, month. I know you want to know what happened, but be patient, let them have some downtime, then ask specific questions - like "Did you go to the library today?"

• No extra-curricular. Like I said, those little people are so worn out by the new routine, new faces, new names - by the time they get to 3pm - they are 100% exhausted. Minimise stress and simplify things by cutting down on extra-curricular activities. It will make everyone's life easier. 

• Bathrooms: Ensure your small knows where the bathrooms are. Very important! Show them which toilet to use, what sign to look for. And also prep them on what to do if the toilet cubicle is in a state of disarray (check the other cubicles if they are free, particularly if you have a girl and there's wee on the seat). 

• Drop Off and Pick Up: Try to make sure you're not too rushed in the morning so you have a few minutes in the playground before bell time, and make sure you tell your child where you will meet them. Kindergarten teachers generally have to wait with their class until each of the parents turn up, so try and arrive before the bell rings to keep everyone happy and stress free. 

• Pack Your Own Tissues: You might just need them.

PS - The 'Starting School' book by Janet and John Ahlberg is pretty good. Reading about school if helpful too, your local library might have some titles that are worth checking out.

Have you got any getting ready for school tips to share? 

F Is For Failing.

This Kindergarten mum thing has really overwhelmed me.

We've got notes flying in weekly that are 6 pages long. 6 pages peeps. I can't concentrate and absorb for that long. I forget things. I don't have a PA. Apparently I need a PA to manage these notes.

I can't manage these notes. They're managing me.

I keep missing key dates.

I forget to send notes.

We seem to be on some merry-go-round of gold coin days.

I've forgotten to send my son to school with extra fruit for fruit-o.

SOMEONE HELP ME!

I've even given these notes their very own folder. They've got their own neat little home, but I can't track all the activity.

The thing is, I LOVE being organised, 'ello, 'ello, 'ello, so what's happened 'ere then?

I didn't know my son was meant to wear his joggers every day this week. Where was that note?

I didn't know the Kindy BBQ was on. My husband forgot to share that one with me.

I forgot the gardening gloves for Clean Up Australia Day. That's my own fault. I'll take that one on the chin.

I'm a worthless cheque. A total wreck. A flop!

Anyone got any tips to set me on the straight and narrow?

Relief

Last night the Doctor whispered to me. We were sitting on my bed together before his bedtime. Man I love cuddling my babes before they snuggle down for for sleep time.

"I'm having a great time at school. I didn't think I'd like it before, but I think it's really fun."

Funny little intuitive creatures. I've had such anxiety about school. We missed a note telling us about the Kindergarten Breakfast BBQ - so we missed it. I felt guilty. (And for those that haven't started school yet, there are notes. A lotta notes. I could almost bind them and you'd not know the difference between the school notes and War & Peace. That many notes.)

I am so grateful that my little peeps are so awesome and inspiring.

* It pains me that the Doctor is no longer this small. Where the heck did you go time?!

First Day of School

Today was the first day of school for my firsborn, the Doctor. Highly anticipated. And highly dreaded by me.

We turned up, accidentally a little late, and went to the classroom where the kids were settling in. Once we got his name tag, hung up his backpack, the Doctor looked nervous. Then went over to some other little boys, started building with them and said to me, "Can you go now Mum?"

Ok...

So we kissed him goodbye, my little boy. My little Kindergarten boy, and walked out of the classroom. Me with tears misting over. Tiny riding on Matt's shoulders, oblivious. We walked back to the car, I sat in the seat and sobbed my little heart out.

At the end of the day, I rang my little boy to see how his first day went, and could tell he was bursting with excitement (and told me about "a rude boy who wouldn't share a train but it had 3 spare carriages!"). And when I got home from work, we chatted and chatted about school. Man I love this little guy.

Day two tomorrow.

Meanwhile I can't find the battery charger for our camera, turned the house upside down, still nowhere to be found. But on a flipside, can anyone recommend a handbag size camera that takes ace photos that doesn't cost a Bombfunk MC?

Writing While Sitting In The Freezer

This is a big week peeps!

Tiny had her first full day of preschool yesterday! Of course she loved it. And she loved seeing me when I picked her up - my heart felt full when I saw the joy in her little face.

The Doctor had a morning at school today, just for half an hour, and his first day is on Thursday.

As for me, I am busy slaying dragons, ridiculously busy at work, not sleeping, and sitting under the airconditioner (in one room) and contemplating relocating to Woolworths frozen section for the week.

You?

PS - I was super lucky, one of my ace friends took me to see Cat Power at the Opera House on Sunday. AMAZING! Man that woman is beautiful - in every sense of the word.

CUTE ATTACK!

My little Doctor is so excited about school. Both days of this weekend he's worn his school uniform. We went out and about with a little school boy. Man he is giving me all sorts of cute attacks. He's so proud! He loads his backpack up with his drink bottle and Lego paraphernalia and off he goes.

By the end of this week I will have a Kindy Kid in my house. Amazing.

One thing about the uniform - did they really need to choose those white shirts? For one thing - pristine white for a small child - good luck to me and my love affair with Napisan. Secondly, ironing - I only iron about once a quarter. Have you seen the Stubbies SunSmart school tees with 50+ UPF protection and have neat little airvents under the arms, not to mention: they-don't-need-ironing?? BRILLIANT! Who do I need to brainwash at school to get them to switch?