All set for school

The languid days of summer holidays are coming to an end and children will soon be trading their carefree sun and swimming-fuelled days with scheduled activities and study timetables.

Back to school is a time of anticipation and first-day jitters which is true for pre-schoolers and older children. For post pre-schoolers, attending a small and comfortable nursery environment and moving on to a ‘big’ school is the next leap into the real world.
Parents ready their cameras in the morning to record the first day of school and feel proud when they see their ‘little baby’ in his school uniform and shiny black shoes. But more often than not, parents or rather mother’s feel the first day jitters more than the children.
Kathleen John, a kindergarten teacher at Quality Education School at Kanoo Garden in Salmaniya says that the first day at school is the same every year. “Mothers are anxious to know about snack-time, personal attention to the child, safety and curriculum (in the same order). They feel that their little ones might not be able to totally cope with the independence that a regular school expects of their child. The concerns are the same whether it is in this school or the school in Sri Lanka where I was teaching before,” she says.
“I remember feeling more vulnerable than my four-year-old and telling myself that I have done the right thing by placing him at the British School rather than keeping him in the pre-school for another year, hoping that he would not get lost in the crowd,” says Rania Murad who loitered around her son’s class for 15 minutes after he had gone inside more to reassure herself than anything else.
Real school, larger classes, crowded hallways and longer days, make some children fearful of the change from the small comfortable pre-school environment. Their concerns are divided into emotional and how they will get through the day. School work may seem daunting in the beginning and most children question their parents about their day in school. Almost all schools these days organise an introductory evening for parents and children so that the children can meet their teacher and familiarise themselves with the geography of the school in order to quell worries about bathroom, play area and classroom.
First timers in a new school are also concerned about whether any of their old school friends will be with them and the frequently asked question that needs constant assurance, ‘will mummy come and pick me from school?’ 
Then there are others who cannot wait to step into the environs of a ‘big’ school. Children especially those with older siblings have longed to step into their own school shoes.
These little ones look forward to the idea of homework as it reeks of being a ‘big kid’. Four-year-old Faiz Salman of Saar couldn’t stop telling everyone in Pakistan that he would be going to St Christopher’s in September, puffing up his little chest with the comment in order to add importance. 
Many little ones’ first day at school is the time for first impressions and while the little one is kitted out in his new school uniform, most mothers feel the need to glam up too as they would be meeting other mothers.
 “I remember waking up 30 minutes earlier than my usual time so that I could do my hair and makeup and wear a nice outfit instead of putting on any T-shirt and jeans and my oversized shades,” says Ann Cross.
Entering into a school is a major advancement in every child’s life. It is a milestone in their development and experiences that they encounter in their early days of school shape their opinion about learning.

By Asma Salman
asma.salman@gulfweekly.com