8.15am - Arrival
There weren't many kids around yet, and the few present were having their brekkie at the common food/play area. I really didn't know what to expect, and the first teacher I met was the Chinese teacher (from China) and she grabbed Ignatius from me, and whisked him away. This was after a tearful goodbye to Daddy, who had to go off to work. Needless to say, he scream and cried. I was very lost...is this the method they prefered? Should I go get him back? Should I just let him be? I'm a childcare idiot!
Then Ignatius' form teacher arrived and I asked her what was happening and she said "no no no, should never yank the child away like that!" and rescued my Ignatius for me, and I held him snugly to me. Ooohhh it felt good.
To keep the Chinese teacher at bay, I brought Ignatius out of the classroom to where the other kids were eating. He was familiar with this area as we had let him play here on the previous ocassions that we visited the school. He remembered there were nice ride-ons and trucks and busied himself with them for a good 20mins. That brought us to about 8.50am, and he was ready for his 2nd brekkie. I whipped out my homemade meal (yeah, he can't have any of the centre's brekkie menu coz it all had milk in it) for him with a nice packet of juice. The other toddlers only had red bean paste bun (only half they were alloted!) and 1/4 cup of milo. Needless to say, they eyed him with envy.
Ok, up to here no pictures coz I was still finding my footing around the whole childcare thing, and my phone was still sleeping in my bag. Here's where the eye candy begins...
9am - Assembly
Here's when the day officially starts. All the kids (toddler to kindergarten) will gather and sing some welcome/hello songs. A circle was formed, and the kids sat down. I placed Ignatius among the kids and move to the side of the room. He stayed there only a while, and then "drifted" back to me. Actually to be more accurate, he drifted everywhere! He didn't feel shy wandering into the middle of the circle either.
His form teacher (the one you see in the background) then started giving out pencils, and this is where he started to get "friendly". So friendly in fact, that an older boy told him he was rude (the boy's the blond in the pic below) for snatching the pencils. Well...I guess Ignatius was over eager...but how do I teach restraint at this age? The blond boy is in an older class, and the teacher admonished him for calling his friend rude. Sigh, I felt sorry for the blond kid, but ... what to do?
9.30 - Classes in session
The children are broken up into their respective classes and the kids move into their classrooms for a drink of water.
There were several absentees today, and hence the class was small enough for ... art! The teacher brought them out to the yard again, and set up 2 easels. There were many kids and 1 teacher. I didn't know how she was going to handle it. We had
1. Nora 27mths
2. Francesca
3. Fabien 27mths
4. Alex 19mths (female)
5. Izelia or something like that
6. Holly 27mths
7. Ignatius 18mths
Being a childcare teacher is a skill. The older kids obviously knew what was happening, and wanted a go at the easels first. (these kids age 27mths were still in Ignatius' class as their development was not up to the next level yet) So the rest of the blur blur kids just wandered around and played with whatever caught their fancy.
Needless to say, Ignatius zoomed in on the ride-ons. I never knew he was strong enough to bring them down on his own from the platform...but he did. 
After that, he zipped around with the other kids. Alex also wanted to use the same ride-on as he, and they had a few small tussles... My boy won because he was louder, and stronger. I kept telling him to "share!" but he used the word creatively. He told Alex to SHARE! SHARE! meaning..."give it to me!"...sigh. Should I be amused or embarressed? 
I tried to get him interested in a ride-on with a phone...and resulted in him wanting to call Daddy call Daddy! Not a good solution either. This place had a good number of steps...and Ignatius can walk up and down small steps...but still has difficulty walking down adult size steps... I worry for him as the teachers seem to assume Ignatius can roam freely unaided. He didn't do too badly...merely stumbled a bit but managed to catch himself before falling. I guess he'll just have to learn.
Finally, it was his turn to paint. He's such a Picasso! hahaha He told his teacher he saw a "plane" when she asked him what his picture was about. So, his first artwork at school is "Plane"! =)
He was all dirty then, and he LOVED washing up. Their idea of sink in the yard was a big clay pot with a hole at the bottom for drainage, and a short hose as the tap. Ignatius loved to turn on the water, wash his hands, turn off the water, and then play with the water remaining in the pot. Argh...which then means turn on the water to wash hands...you get the idea.
Then he went back to playing with the kids while the others finished their art. Just look at how he interacted with them...
After that, was a short water break before music class with the scary Chinese teacher...
10.30am - Music Time
It was music time...and it was conducted by the scary Chinese teacher. Ignatius wasn't the only one who didn't like her...2 other kids bawled their hearts out as well and had to be removed from the class. I personally found her too loud and brash as well. Ignatius didn't really want to be a part of this class, and preferred to walk over to the TV to turn it on.
11am - Blocks time
As the activity suggests...it's time to play with blocks. Ignatius has no love for blocks...as I've moaned time and time again. He spent this half hour mainly lying across my legs, or trying to peep into another class' music time.
11.30am - Lunch time
The kids automatically sat around the tables...guess stomach calls! The bowls were distributed, and I was horrified! The portion was only about 1/3 of his usual serving at home! I anxiously (and hurriedly) asked if he could have seconds. The teacher smiled and said of course! they only had to ask... which makes my next urgent task teaching Ignatius how to ask for more food.
There were quite a few toddlers who could not, or was too lazy to, self feed. And hence, the principal had called in her Filipino helper to assist in feeding. Thankfully I was around...else I don't know how Ignatius will get anything into his mouth! Although he could scoop and deliver the spoon to his mouth, he didn't know how to hold the bowl. Hence, the bowl nearly toppled over the table several times as he was trying to scoop his food. The bowl was also shallower than the ones we have at home, and he didn't have enough "wall space" to slide his spoon up to gather the food. It was a mess. (Thankfully, I won't be the one to clean the floor this time!) I'm making a mental note to remind his teacher to give him 2 portions no matter what, and to help him hold his bowl. She was trying to teach him to hold his bowl today...but he didn't quite grasp the concept. He held his bowl with both hands instead like a steering wheel. sigh...
No pictures here as I was too busy trying to feed the rascal!
12 noon - Relaxation and waiting for bus
This is the time when the full day kids were being showered, and the morning kids unwind and wait for the bus which comes at 1pm.
Ignatius' class had a walk in the garden and chased the animals around. The duck, cockeral and turkey were awake, but Ignatius' favourite rabbits were all zonked out.
After that, they went back in for some indoor play with the freshly showered kids. By this time, Ignatius was really tired and slightly grouchy. Mommy was exhausted and wanted to go home too.
1pm - Bus time
Ignatius first school bus. It was a small mini-van. I hung behind so that the "bus aunty" could hold his hand and lead him into the bus. Success. Once on the bus though, he started howling for MOMMY! Poor boy. He's tired. It's way past his nap time. So I had to carry him on my lap. Just before we reached our destination (which is my mother in law's place), I passed him back to the bus aunty so she could pass him to my mother in law. Massive meltdown. No choice. He'll have to learn.
And so folks, that wraps up an utterly exhausting day for me. And for the boy as well. He conked out IMMEDIATELY upon changing his clothes. My mother in law was disappointed as she wanted him to eat a 2nd lunch. She's sure they'll starve him. Oh well. I'm sure she'll make up for it with a huge dinner.
said...
Iggy looked so big boy in his uniform! handsome too! :)
The school looks really good too! tempting....
said...
oh come come! his form teacher is really gd! he has fun there, and i'm sure YX will too!
said...
the school looks really good, and iggy seems to be adjusting so well! me tempted also...btw, what school is this?
said...
Hi Lani
Ya, the school compound is very big, and relatively clean. Relatively.
It's Carpe Diem Kidz at Royal Road.