Ewan: My Graduating Nursery One-r

Dear Son,

We had a conversation, lights off and ready for bed:

Mom: Oh Ewan. You are growing up so quickly. You will be in N2 next week! I am feeling a little sad.
You: Why Mommy?
Mom: Because you will grow up and not need me anymore. Unlike now where I get surprise hugs and kisses from you.
You: *silent*
Mom: I will miss you so very much. Do you think you'll still want mommy to be around when you are much older?
You: Yes Mommy. I need you. Oh Mommy *voice breaking* I love you.
*received a big hug from him which got Faye very angry because he pushed her away from my arms*
Mom: I love you too. Whenever you need me (or don't need me), I'll just turn up at your front door and irritate you. *hahaha* 
You: Huh?

I felt like I'm losing more of you with every passing year. You are my everything even one day when you decided that you do not need me any more than home-cooked dinners and free vacations. Your world will revolve around your wife instead of mine. That said, if you can embrace and care for my daughter-in-law with your undying love, I'd be beaming with pride as your mother. It goes to show that we've taught you well to respect and dote on the woman who will be your forever. Totally out of context for a three year old now but.. *haha* ok back to topic. 

I asked your teachers, "Why is it that the comments on the progress report are always so positive?" It can't be that you've been super obedient in school because we get a lot of hair-pulling moments at home with you! I cited a few examples:

- Ewan tends to shout and scream at people who provokes him. If he gets really angry, he will beat them!

- He wants everything NOW. Right This Moment! Immediately!

- When we want him to do something, like shower, he will take forever to walk into the shower. Sometimes, a simple shower needs a lot of negotiations. Too much. The daddy deemed that as disobedience.

- He does share his toys but not all the time and not always without a fight.

- Oh he wails and whines at very petty situations. Doesn't he do that in school? Throw tantrums?

And their replies were, "Oh but that's normal children's behaviour!"

We were left dumb-founded. Literally. Should we take a step back and remind ourselves that you are only but a three year old? We were probably expecting too much from you because you carry yourself well over your physical age. You took part in a child profiling experiment conducted by the Department of Psychology in National University of Singapore. The profiling was tedious and I must say pretty demanding for a playful toddler who is required to answer to some hundred questions posed by the facilitator. Well, it seemed like a hundred to me but it's probably 50. During the assessment, you displayed mental abilities in conducting the elimination method to derive the right answers. I was impressed. Your results came back with a report that suggested you possess a vocabulary bank that of a six year old. I was surprised and skeptical yet swollen-headed. I questioned the basis of this study and was told that it is normed in the US population. Therefore, there will bound to be cultural differences but provides a rough estimate of your vocabulary development. I believe our children in Singapore are more exposed and probably more advanced in literacy than a standard American kid. Thus, explaining the outstanding findings not only in you but some of your peers as well.

You are gifted with a glib tongue and keen interest in language learning and outdoor play. Before you even started pre-school at 18 months, you were already singing "We Will Rock You", reciting from A is for Alligator to Z is for Zebra, counting in three languages and charming the ladies with the way you tease them. Today, you are already adding from 1+1=2 to 1+4=5, cycling on a bicycle without training wheels, ride kiddy roller-coasters with a squeal and "reading" storybooks (Chinese or English) by memory.

Going into Nursery One, we were all taken aback when you resisted school. You've carried yourself well as a boy who is extremely adaptable and highly sociable. So, no one, not even your teachers were prepared that you'd cry for a week moving into your new class. You've got yourself a new set of teachers and classmates. It was a difficult transition for a three year old and we over-estimated it.

There are two Parent Teacher Meetings (PTM) a year. Here's a couple of comments I enjoyed reading from 陈老师 and Ms Mira:

- 亿文是个好强的小男孩，当他察觉到身边的伙伴和老师交流的时候，都运用中文，他也努力地提醒自己要和陈老四说中文。有一天，我看到亿文的脸颊上有伤痕，便问他： “亿文，你的脸怎么了？” 他本想用流利的英文回答的，看了看陈老师，回答说：“我跳，摔倒了，我哭了。” 对于一位三岁的小朋友仍然有想说中文，愿意说中文的热情，陈老师为他感到很骄傲很自豪。

- 他第一次骑脚车是让我印象深刻 －小小个子的他踩起笨重的三轮车就像开着跑车一般！好赞！

- 记得有一次的点心时间快超过了，我提醒孩子们说：“时间嘀嗒过，” 亿文马上就接后半句：“分秒要把握”。亿文是老师心里的佼佼者。这后半年，它不仅愿意尝试运用中文和我交流，而且他最大的进步是会为自己辩护了。不知是用哭声来表达自己的委屈或难过！

- 在中文集中活动时，他对文字有很强的敏感度。只要老师教过的字卡，只要稍微提醒，他都能发音认读出来，不仅如此，他初会人只记得名字，还会帮助部分的朋友认读名字喔。

- Ewan's joviality never fails to brighten up the mood of his friends and teachers when he enters the class.

- Ewan is spontaneous and offers his thoughts verbally in response to the teacher's questions.

- His creativity and love for music is especially apparent when he tries to piece up words from the day's lesson together with a familiar tune at the end of the day.

- Ewan loves donning on the bear or hen mask at the Reading Corner before coming up with and dramatising stories with his peers.

We've been blessed with really good teachers ever since we started school. Your mandarin had also improved leaps and bounds! So much that I see no need for enrichment classes in the near future to prep you for Primary One. I credit it to the strong support of the Chinese teachers. Majority of the families use English as our first language at home and children will naturally reply in English even when they are communicated in Mandarin. By the end of 2015, I noticed all your classmates made tremendous effort to reply in Chinese when spoken to by the 老师s, even your caucasian classmate!

Towards the end of the last school term, we attended a Year-End Concert put together by your talented teachers. At first, I was a little disappointed that you've been made an animal again! You were a duck last year and a kangaroo this time. My complain was, "Aiyo... What are we going to do with the animal costumes after all is done?" My gripe was uncalled for because you and your classmates were the cutest bunch of kangaroos ever!

"Jump Jump Jump like a Kangaroo

Listen to the sounds of the Didgeridoo"

The school had always remained its policy of Concert-Secrecy to give us that element of surprise on Concert Day. But you let the cat out of the bag by singing the song over and over again at home. Truthful Ewan even told me, "Mommy, I will be a kangaroo on Concert Day!" You were all amazing on stage! Just last year, you little ducklings wagged your tail feathers and flapped your wings so mildly it looked like you were all just erm... standing there. One year later, you were all performing on stage without any guidance from anyone and actually remembered every single step choreographed by your teachers! Ms Mira and 陈老师 commented that they were tearing backstage when you little tots were hopping about on stage. They were so very proud, just as we parents were. I was amazed by the bravery of this mob of roos. How is it that there was no signs of stage fright? I truly believe in the power of peer confidence.

Unlike moving from Playgroup to Nursery One, from one building to another, your Nursery Two move will only be to the neighbouring classroom. When we talked about new classrooms, new classmates and new teachers, you accepted them with a nod. Very steadfastly and confidently, you announced to me, "This is my new classroom mom!" I believe you have favourite teachers and I do too. Yahoo to your new teachers because I love them! You will be in good hands and I am certain you will have a great 2016 my son. Oh how I dread writing about you graduating from Nursery Two end of next year!

Loving you,
Mommy

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1 Nov 2014

Ewan: My Graduating Playgroup-er

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