I haven’t blog for a while now and actually miss doing it. If I may say, the last few months have been extremely busy with my parent’s visiting and my brother plus his wife moving in with us. Apart from adjusting to life with housemates, since my last entry, I’ve been quite caught up with big events:
The boys’ birthdays, enrolling them in Early Learning centres, Ethan and Niel finally threw out their dummies, kinder orientation, Christmas parties, New Years events, trying to get the boys out of the house more, researching prep schools for Malakai, researching epilators for myself, and also planning for coordinating Sunday School this year.
It has certainly been very busy and I don’t see things calming down that we decided to put Ethan and Niel to childcare two days a week this year. I do feel guilty for doing this, but mainly it is because starting Kinder is a major hurdle in Malakai’s life (and mine). It is officially our first “school” with set starting time and finish time. I am now thinking how do I get everyone to eat breakfast and be ready, hauling a pre-schooler and two toddlers to be at kinder 10 minutes before the 8.15 starting time?! That is way too early for me. Childcare is easier, if we didn't have time to feed at home - they’ll feed them there, but not Kinder. The kids need to have their breakfast and sandwich packed by the time Kinder starts.
This is not only a challenge for Malakai, but also for me: a test for my time management and parenting skills. Have I successfully taught him social skills? Will he greet his teachers and play nicely with friends or will he cry and cling to me for dear life? Will he be able to take out his lunch box and eat his sandwich without me prodding him to sit down and finish his food? Will he be able to take instructions from the teacher and have enough concentration skills to do an assignment? I have taken him to the library since he was a toddler, will he participate in group activities and know his songs and nursery rhymes? I’ve been actively conversing with him in Indonesian and only lately in English so that he will be bi-lingual… does he knows enough English to thrive in Kinder? Aaaah… starting Kinder is definitely as stressful it is to parents as it is to the child. I agree.
