Shaayla's First Day in Pre-School

Shaayla Ren Jie Sasidaran, our little girl, has grown up fast. It seemed liked yesterday that we held her in our arms all bright eyed and bushy tailed youngen and now off to pre-school. Anyone who is a parent would know how though first day of school is, for the parents that is! Pauline could not stop crying for almost the length of the time she was in class. I think that was approximately 4 hours (I was not the one counting). I understand that it is not easy for a mother, who has been by a kids' side every waking moment, to leave the kid in a strange place even for an hour.

We enrolled Shaayla at Maryhill Pre-school, a 20 min drive from where we live. After looking at a number of other schools nearby we felt that this was the best place for her, although the school fees was ridiculous but we are strong believers of early education (builds the foundation) and therefore we did not think much of the amount that we were spending on her education, mind you there are pre-schools that are even more expensive that public universities back home.

We arrived at the school at around 8am on Dec 31, 2007. There weren't many kids there today since it was the eve of the new year but we thought it would be a good day for her to ease into the school environment and not be overwhelmed on her first day. We brought her in to the class and introduced her to the teachers. She was a big apprehensive at first but the number of toys in that classroom and the kind and friendly disposition of the teachers must have made her and us feel comfortable.

When we saw that she was getting quite comfortable with the teacher we slowly sneeked out of the room making sure she did not see us leave. The true heartbreaking moment came when she peeped through the classroom window, like a prisoner in a jail cell, looking to see if we were coming back. That was when Pauline could not hold back her tears anymore. But it was important to us that she did not see her mother cry. The sight of Pauline crying would have broken her confidence. 1 week before school we kept reminding her that she was a big girl and it was time for her to go to school alone. I kept repeating that mantra to her while walking her to the car this morning and to my surprise she said "I am a big girl, I have lots of friends to play with and I should not be afraid". My girl is growing up.