Noey's First Day

In my inbox yesterday morning was the following note from my Calendar:

Reminder: Noey starts School @ Mon Jun 27 11am - 2:30pm

Well, it was not like I really needed any reminding! All of Sunday evening through to the next morning saw me a bundle of energy as I shuffled between labelling Noey's bag and bottle, picking out his clothes, prattling randomly to Noey about the activities that he would be enjoying in school and dishing out various last-minute instructions.

I know DD tried really hard not to roll his eyes at me.

I couldn't help it. His first day at school solo is a real milestone! Besides, we'd agreed that Papa would be the one dropping him off (since Noey usually has greater separation anxiety from Mummy) and not being able to be there with him myself on the first day was turning me into a kan cheong spider.

Noey, he was being as cool as a cucumber. For one, he was totally enamoured with his new bag (thanks, Aunty A!) and water bottle. He proceeded to drink up almost all the water in it before he had even stepped out of the house. Ah, the wonders a spanking new desirable water bottle can to for a usually fluid-challenged boy. He also seemed to have bought all the enthusiastic psyching-up that I had been giving him over the course of the last couple of weeks, so much so that he started repeating it himself (in third person):

"Noey will go to school and Noey's teacher will teach Noey to draw and colour!"
"Noey will go to school and Mummy will not be here, and when school is over, Mummy will come and PICK YOU UP! Haha! So funny!"

All well and good, but the real test was in the going!

All set and ready to go with Papa!
(The pre-nursery kids in his school don't need to wear the school uniform)

I waited a little anxiously at home while the live updates started coming in from DD. To my relief, everything seemed to be going well. Noey joined in the storytelling session on-going for the afternoon session kids, eventually working his way right up to the front to get closer look at the book the teacher was holding. This notwithstanding the storytelling session being conducted in Chinese. Then he later allowed himself to be led to the adjacent church sanctuary for singing. DD stayed to watch him troop off to the toilet, hand-in-hand with a classmate, then sit down for lunch, whereupon the teachers told DD there was really no need for him to hang around because Noey was doing just fine.

Noey eating his bee hoon on his own. He later told us that he asked for more!
The pic was taken by his teacher as DD wanted to stay out of sight and not disrupt Noey, seeing as he was coping rather well.

So DD left and came home and us two parents bounced around at home excitedly wondering how our little boy was doing and waiting for the time to tick by to go pick him up. In the end we set off half an hour early and spent some time peeking at Noey while he was having outdoor play.

Trying to stay out of sight, peeping through the crack in the windows.

All went well until right at the end when blur Mummy here stood in plain view and Noey caught sight of me. He immediately tried to walk towards me and when shepherded back to join his class by one of his teachers, promptly burst into tears. Oops. I really felt guilty for that slip up!

Thankfully he was released shortly after and we picked up our big boy and gave him a big hug for doing so well on his first day of school.

Explaining why he had a star stamped on his hand. "Noey's Chinese teacher taught Noey about stars in the sky," he said. "星星!"

"Can we go home now?" Noey still looking a bit teary at the end of the day.

We zipped him back and popped him to sleep shortly after. His day ends later than he's used to and it'll take a while before he adjusts accordingly for his afternoon nap I guess.

So all in all, we're really proud of him! Keep it up, little not so little Noey!