11th Day of School

"Ethan go school, Mummy stay home wait for Ethan" - the usual chant continues. Ethan seems to be comforted whenever he says that and sees me nod to it. He's certainly no longer resisting the idea of attending school. Yet, the day started off bad still. He turned in late on Sunday night, so we had a rushed breakfast. In the hurry, he choked on an hard-boiled egg, and threw up almost the entire breakfast, leaving home only with 4oz of milk in his stomach. I usually flare up when he vomits... So this is no exception. It didn't help that we were almost late for school, and just like typical kids of Ethan's age, the concept of time and punctuality has not kicked in yet. And only the parents get anxious as the minutes ticked away.

When I met Ethan at noon, the first thing that caught my eye was a bruise on his right cheek. The teacher explained that he had a fall during outdoor play that morning while running about. It was a slight bruise but it still got me concerned. Thankfully, he was dressed in long pants and long-sleeved sweater; those probably prevented scrapes on his arms and knees. I gathered from Ethan that he had run into a table in the outdoor play area in school. Well, from now onwards, I have a clear example to remind him to be cautious when he's running around.

The cries for the day began after lunch. Ethan knew I was fetching him back to school for his nap and he still does not wish to sleep in the common room with the other pupils. So repeatedly, he said, "I want to sleep in school." By that, he really meant his own classroom. I told him that we would ask his teacher if she would allow it, and that I cannot decide. I tried explaining the possible scenario that his teacher might once again be required to watch over all the kids and cannot afford to have him sleep alone in a separate room. I questioned why he refused to sleep in the common room, and suggested if it was because he was afraid of the other children. He said yes, but couldn't continue to explain why he has that fear. So the whining, and crying lasted for the whole time that I was getting him ready for school after lunch. Perhaps softened by his fall, as well as the cold that he's caught (he had watery eyes, and a mucous-filled nose), I was able to keep my cool through all his fussing, and spoke with him in an even tone. Believe it or not, he fell asleep once we got out of the house and onto the streets. I basically carried a sleeping Ethan all the way from home to the common napping room; he was fully asleep by then and did not struggle even through all my handling of removing his jacket, bag, shoes and pants. I had a chance to enter the napping room this time, and saw how it was. I would say there were about 50 children lying on individual canvas safari beds on roller wheels in a quiet and dimly lit room. There were 2-3 teachers watching over them, checking on their comforters or staying by the side of a couple of children who were still falling asleep.

At 4.30pm, Ethan was the first to dash out of his classroom again. He asked to look at my watch then, and was happy to see the hands at 4 and 6. And he swiftly turned his head to ask for candy - his daily reward for completing the day's school.