Ewan: My Graduating Playgroup-er

Posted by May November 01, 2014

Ewan: My Graduating Playgroup-er

Dear Son,

as we approach the end of twenty fourteen, we reflect on your schooling journey with your teachers at the Parent Teacher Meeting. With all reluctance, you entered playgroup at 18 months old. We had hoped you could stay off all academic drills for as long as we can put you away. However, mommy could not cope with a laborious pregnancy and give you the highest level of care simultaneously. We were thankful you adapted well after ten days and got yourself badged as the friendliest tot in school. You would greet everyone from the bus driver uncle to the kindergarten teachers with your brightest smiles. What a beautiful trait you possess.

How much progress or change can one year make to any child? Dreadfully much! Besides being overwhelmed by all the wonders in your life, you welcomed the birth of your little sister in the same calendar year. The change, the stress and the excitement - you seemed to take it all in stride.

Your teachers submitted a bi-yearly report of your progress today. You are growing up. It is my good fortune that I have not missed any of your developments thus far. A couple of comments I enjoyed reading from your teachers:

- Ewan is very popular among friends. When he is not in school, his friends will ask for him. He has established a good bond with both his teachers and peers.

- Ewan learns very quickly and participates actively during lesson time.

- He finds it quite difficult to hold he scissors in the correct way but he shows great patience and perseverance.

- Since the birth of his baby sister, Ewan appears to have taken on the responsibility of the older brother in school.

- 热亲，活泼的你，总是那么愿意帮别人，小朋友哭了你回去安慰他，帮他擦掉眼泪。

- 有你的地方都会出现朗朗的欢笑声，如春风洋溢着整个游乐场。

- 老师在你稚嫩的小脸上，看到了一道能折射出无限希望的光芒，相信你的未来是无可限量的。

- 记得刚上幼稚园的时候，你很坚强，很快就适应了幼稚园的生活，一直以来，你留给每个老师的印象就是－－能干。

It isn't all a bed of roses of course. You know exactly what is not expected of you yet you continue to test boundaries more and more. Every day, we repeat after ourselves for you to follow instructions but you choose to mischief your way through. Daddy told your teachers that you are very violent! Beating your cousins, snatching from them and screaming at the top of your lungs. We are relieved to hear that you are not as we've experienced you to be in school. They believe it's because you knew that there are rules to follow in certain environments and take advantage to misbehave in others. They assured us that if you hadn't started snatching at this age, we should start to worry. Believe it or not, the progress report had an interesting assessment: "Defends possessions with determination" Developing or Established.

I believe your peers and yourself have successfully Established this "quality". As parents, we prefer a sweet little boy who shares everything, loves everyone and listens without having to repeat a second time. I realised it is unrealistic of us to expect that of you after today's meeting. You are but a child yearning to burst through the soil and blossom. This is part of the learning process. As parents, we need to be reminded and be mindful of our actions.

We were presented with your class photo and portfolio of your artworks. We chose a school that focuses on learning through art, music and play over academic-based education. I cannot agree with schools that pushes a bunch of two year olds to learn ABCs and 123s from a whiteboard. Gosh, you better thank us for injecting so much fun in your little life boy!

Admiring your portfolio, I have new-found gratitude for your teachers. Not only do they have to handle 12 little imps daily, they spend lots of time planning and putting each portfolio together to please us (your parents). It is an amazing keepsake of your learning journey. Always remember to appreciate and give thanks to everything that has been done for you. Not only do parents shape your life, teachers play a very important role as well. It is wonderful to learn that your very first pair of teachers are dedicated to their jobs and love the life out of all you little ones.

Each artwork has a small write-up at the back which includes a picture of you absorbed in that craftwork, a description of how the masterpiece was done and its purpose. Here, you are seen in the Growing week of a Show and Tell session. Each child was encouraged to bring a photo of themselves when they were a baby and took centre stage to share with their friends about that little baby they used to be. I love it that you were looking proud and excited when it was your turn for Show and Tell.

I enjoyed every piece of artwork in your portfolio and found my favourite in it. This is an ant hill reinforcing the theme Minibeasts. You added coloured sand and glitters for the ant hill. Then printed the red and black ants with your tiny fingers! I thought that was pretty clever in injecting imagination and creativity in a child. I saw pictures of you working with the paint and I was swelling with pride at your patience.

We sat down together and recollected your year together. You turned the pages and showed your little sister the familiar artworks you've created, going, "Look 妹妹 Look! This is a clover!" We also talked about what you could do to improve as we move along into the next year. Better manners and behaviour were all we ask of you for now. You are only but two. Yet, you seem to understand everything that we've discussed. You listened intently, nodded and agreed that you could do better as a child. Then again, we knew you'd be back to mischief again the next minute. *hahha* You can be sure I will be embracing everything about you with all my heart.

I will miss your classroom. That beautiful stand-alone house away from the main school block. The playgroup kids get to enjoy some level of privacy from the Nursery and Kindergarten children during school hours. Whenever I am early to pick you from school, I am sure to head into your classroom to breathe in the laughter and tears your friends and you had shared. You are graduating from Playgroup to Nursery One in two months time! Oh my Oh my Oh my...