First Day of School

Today was Sydney's first day at the Yew Chung International School of Shanghai. The school is based on the British school system, and caters to kids from 12 months through 12th grade. There are even dorm rooms for boarding kids. The school is hidden behind a huge fence so that you cannot see the school grounds from the street. To enter the campus, you have to enter through the security door where there are always 3 security people there to check people in and out and to make sure that there are no unauthorized people on campus.

I had forgotten how much time it took to get a toddler up, fed, washed, combed and dressed in the morning. Since we didn't have our driver, I had to factor in the time it took to get a taxi, and I wanted to get to school early so Sydney would have a bit of time to get adjusted before the other kids arrived and there is too much going on. As I result, I only had time to throw on some clothes and brushed my teeth before heading out the door. While I made sure that we had all of our required supplies, Sydney made sure that we didn't leave without her "baby doll".

There are 7 kids in her class from different nationalities - American, French, Spanish, Korean and Chinese. As it turned out, I wasn't the only one who wanted to show up to school a little early. It's always nice to know that I'm not the only anal one in the room. She has 2 Chinese teachers who speak perfect English and an ayi who sets up activities, keeps the room clean and clean off the kids as needed. Her teachers are very nice and seem to really enjoy being around kids.

Sydney and I went to the school's orientation yesterday so that she could meet her teachers and get familiar with her classroom. She was very overstimulated as soon as she walked in, not knowing what to touch first. It is a very fun room, full of color, toys, stuff animals and various textures to handle. The main area is the free for all area where any toy can be pulled down and played with. And there are various areas designated for certain activities.

where some of the toys are stored

this is the reading room where storytime is held

play area with food items and kitchen appliances

general play area

Upon arrival, we put our stuff in Sydney's cubbyhole and she wasted no time at all getting into the toys. I think that going to orientation the day before helped because Sydney went straight for the toys that she liked to play with the day before, especially the painting table. They had paint and animal shaped sponges out and ready for kids to play with during free play. Just like yesterday, Sydney headed straight for the paint table and painted on evertything she could find -- paper, table, chair, her dress, her Mommy, her arm, her indoor shoes. They have smocks for kids to put on but Sydney wouldn't put it on. The paint was washable so I didn't care whether she wore it or not. But this time, I was smart enough not to take her to school in my work clothes. The school was considerate enough to save Sydney's masterpieces for me.

There is a schedule to Sydney's day but it's just different forms of play time --- storytime, music time, etc. Twice a day, Sydney's class goes outside to play. There are several playgrounds on campus, catering to the various age groups. Sydney's playground is right outside her class room. There is also an indoor playground in case the weather is not conducive to being outside. She also has a snack in the morning, lunch and then "afternoon tea" (like I said, it is based on the British system). Lunch is a Western entree, a Chinese entree, 2 veggies and a bowl of fruit. The Western entree wasn't as healthy as I would like for it to be but atleast they make Sydney's food fresh every day --- nothing frozen and nothing from a can. The teachers talk to the students in Chinese and English but on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, they focus more on Chinese. Sydney already knows 2 Chinese words (thanks to her ayi) so I hope she'll pick it up quickly at school.

As you would expect, Sydney came home exhausted today. But, as I also expected, the excitement of the day caught up with her tonight and she had a really rough time going to sleep. I stayed with her at the school for a couple of hours in the morning and stopped by during lunch time. Yes, I'm THAT mom. She was doing great and her teachers said that she didn't cry at all. But I know it was probably scary for her to suddenly wake up and spend the day with people she didn't know, in an environment that she wasn't familiar with, even though it's a fun environment. It wasn't that long ago that she woke up to find herself in China, away from people she knew and her familiar environment. As with all new changes, it will take a bit of time for her to get used to the new routine.