Once upon a time, I was thinking of sending my son to school when he was 2 and half years old. But Mother said he was still too young. Then he turned three. By that time, my husband always bring him to his hometown, plus my work commitment, then we had our vacation, then it was fasting time, and Raya...
Finally, we enrolled him to a kindergarten.
My criteria are
- it must be Montessori (just because I know my son is that kind of person)
- my aim is not him being able to read or write or count. My aim is for him to be independent, kind and smart
- it must not be a shop lot. It must have a compound. I just like the idea of an open space for the kids to run around, although, I know they would be spending most of the time indoors anyway...
- English medium
- near to my house
- schoolbus is available
We narrowed it down to two- both have its pros and cons
Kindy 1
- cheap, about RM100+ per month
- Islamic based- I especially like the fact that kids must pray before they leave
- the principal has 20 years plus of experience and has a diploma/ degree from UK for childhood education or something like that
- flexible- they have the 8 until 10.30am class, and 11 until 2.30pm class
- they provide real food like mihun goreng etc
Kindy 2
- new, clean and more vibrant looking
- small class- only 9 kids at the moment with 2 teachers
- multiracial
- expensive, about RM300+ per month
Guess which one we chose?
The second kindy!
Because...
- my husband likes it better because of its small class, it looks like it is more organized and they can pay more attention to my kid
- the teachers are not Malay and with its multiracial kids, we are very convinced my son just has to learn to speak English properly!
- the principal of the Kindy 1 is kinda old school...Although she is experienced, she even treated me like one of her kids!
When we visited her kindy, I asked my husband, who was keeping my son occupied, "Macam mana? Okay tak?"
She thought I was asking my son, so she started to lecture me that we, as parents, must make the best decision for our kids, because kids can't make decision for big things like this, bla bla bla.
I didn't want to embarass her, and I repsected her as an elderly, so I just nodded my head and agreed with her (which is true, I was not letting my son be the boss!)
But she went on, and onnnn...
And then", I finally said, "Actually, I was asking my husband".
- my son looked more relax when we visited the second kindy
- we visited the Kindy 2 twice, and he really made himself comfortable there. Haha. Tak malu.
I was actually torn, because I really didn't want to be a bad Mommy. You know, we should make Islam number 1 in our lives, I want my kids to really have strong foundations in Islam...
But then again, I want to shape my kids morally first. Respect people of other races, learn how to carry himself in public, socialize without prejudice, you know, be a morally good person.
Besides, Islam tells us to shower our kids with love first, then only teaches them how to pray and fast when they are seven years old and so...Soooo...We probably would change kindy later when he is older.
Since Kindy 2 only has 9 students, (haha!) this is so laughable, because sometimes, at 8.30am, my son would be the first person to arrive, the rest only arrive at 9am or so! What kind of discipline is this! Haha!
And the teachers are more attentive and they would send me photos of him.
We think we made the right decision, because my son has stopped crying after 1 week. I'm so proud of him!
I sent him to school on day 1 and day 2, didn't even take a day off from work and just left him with the teachers. I was in rush, didn't have the time to be melodramatic about it.
My husband sent him on day 3, 4, and 5. Then, my mom.
He really enjoys his school.
Butttttttttttt
Today his teacher told me he is quiet.
QUIET?
OMG, at home, he acts like he is the biggest demanding little boss ever!
Me: Really? Because he has been telling me the stuff he did at school and he is happy.
Teacher: Yes, yes. He joins in the activities, he listens to our instructions, he can remember what we told him. I don't know whether he understands me or not. He just smiles...
Me: I think he understands you. He is just not speaking English yet because we mostly use Malay at home. But he watches English cartoons.
Teacher: One time, I asked him in BM, then he answered me a little bit and smiled.
Me: Haha.
Teacher: He can't hold a pencil yet.
Me: Oh, okay. (I think his teacher is asking me to have more practice with him).
Teacher: And sometimes, when we are having our activities, after a few minutes, he would wonder off. But that's okay, we just let him be. We don't want to be pushing him....
Me: Ohhh...
(Haha...Memang expected pun...My son ni memang kurang fokus sikit!)
So, anyway....I just feel like writing about my son going to school...Tak lama lagi nak pergi big school, susahlah nak holiday lepas ni...
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Me: Abang!Jom kita pergi Morocco. Sekarang Malaysians dah tak payah pakai Visa!
Husband: Morocco ada apa?
Me: Ada souk. Ada unta...Boleh tengok orang Badwi. Haha.
Husband: Boleh shopping apa?
(-__-")
My husband ni...Bilalah nak jadi cultured sikit! Shopping je keje...
1 hour ago