It has been slightly more than a month since Darius first enrolled into his childcare centre. So how much has he changed since then?

For one, he is beginning to enjoy going to school (we always use school to refer to the centre to him) based on his expressions and behaviour when we bring and fetch him from the centre, and also when we mention school to him.

For example, when we reached the centre this morning, Darius was so eager to go in that he quickly dashed through the main door the moment the teacher-on-duty finished taking his temperature and checking his body for signs of HFMD. He was then eager to make his way through the small gate inside without waiting for us to take off his shoes first. His other teacher holding him even had to remind him to turn around and wave me good-bye before I was to leave.

This was quite a drastic difference from his first few days at the centre, where he would whine and cry when Catherine or I left him in the morning. This gradually improved one or two weeks later where he would whine when Catherine left him but would stop once she was out of sight. Now he doesn’t even bother to complain when we left him there. ^^|

Similarly when fetching him, he is no longer moody like before, as he will often be occupied with things for him to do. For example, when Catherine fetched him yesterday and today, he was so engrossed with the storybook in his hands that the teacher had to inform him that his mother had arrived before he realised it was time to go home.

Darius would be initially confused until he turned around to see mama, ran towards the gate while whining (we noticed that other kids would whine a bit when they see their parents coming to fetch them too) and wanting to open the gate. Then after Catherine carried him up, he would start smiling and blabber non-stop to her, like telling her how his morning went. ^^

We feel very relieved that he has already gotten to his new routine, and we thought his  assimilation into his new environment is likely due to the following:

- Activities: Darius has always enjoyed listening to music so he will always get on with a good start in the morning when he and the other kids and teachers dance and sing in a circle as a number of songs are played. Many of the songs are his favourites, such as When You Are Happy, Ten Little Indian Boys and Itsy Bitsy Spider. When we sing these songs to him at home or while outside, he will do cute little actions which never fails to amuse us. There are also other activities which he likes at the centre, such as storytelling and hands-on activities like block building.

- Environment: The centre is quite spacious with a lot of space for Darius to move around. Since he enjoys walking and exploration, ample space is important to keep him happy. There is also a small platform with a few steps which Darius can walk up and down since he has always enjoyed climbing up and down stairways. The place is not air-conditioned and is airy with the many of its windows opened, keeping him sweat-free and comfortable. He can also look out through the windows facing the road to observe the moving traffic, which he enjoys doing while naming the vehicles passing by with words like bus and car, and sometimes identifying their colours.

- Teachers: The teachers at the centre are relatively young and many are around the same age as Catherine. This is probably why Darius feels more comfortable with the teachers and can relate to them better. We have also noticed many of the teachers adoring him and taking good care of him, calling out his name merrily and excitedly when they see him. Darius even has a nickname ‘Ah Di’ (阿弟) by the teachers there, which goes to show how close their relationships are.

- Preparations: We often inform Darius of what to expect ahead, like gently telling him before his bedtimes that he has to sleep early so he can wake up early the next morning to go to school, or telling him that he needs to complete certain tasks (e.g. finish breakfast, pooping, wearing of uniform, socks and shoes) before we can leave home for school.

We have also been reading a preschool-themed picture book titled Llama Llama Misses Mama which fittingly introduces Darius to the life at a childcare centre. The book follows through the various phases, such as waking up early and taking his breakfast, traveling to the centre together, Mama having to leave him in school for work, him feeling lonely and sobbing initially, and gradually becoming happier after making new friends and doing activities together. Thereafter, before he realises it, Mama will be back to fetch him home and he will look forward to school again the next day.

He loves this book a lot and will request to read it everyday by bringing it to us and say, “mama mama”. Then, he actually imitated Catherine doing some boo-hoo or crying sound at the point where the little llama cried during lunch and misses his Mama. He understood the reunion part where Mama Illama came back and would be happy too.

This books aptly illustrates the phases Darius has gone through and I feel it’s a really good book and it’s a must-read for all children before going to a school for the first time.

- Adaptability: Though Darius is sometimes resistant to new things such as his new toys and books, he is usually very adaptable to new environments and routines. That was one of the main reasons we managed to wean him off his pacifiers and switch him to a new bed with ease. Similarly, his adaptability to the centre has helped transformed him from a whiny kid to a happy one.

We have also brought forward his sleeping time by 30 minutes, so that he would be able to get sufficient sleep even though he wakes up earlier. I’ve also cut down on his evening outdoor walking activity so that he won’t get so tired that he couldn’t wake up in time. I’m sure he will get used to this new routine of him in no time.

Age could play a part too as some parents have said it’s easier for a younger kid to get used to a new environment. We have seen a few older kids crying consistently after their parents had left even though they had already been at the centre for a longer time than Darius.

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So besides getting used to his school over this one month, how much has Darius changed in terms of his physique, behaviour and development?

For one, he has definitely lost some weight, evident from his appearance and when we carry him. Since I started taking the role of bringing him to the centre in the morning, I will ensure he finishes his bowl of breakfast cereal before leaving home. However, we have to skip one of his milk feeds since it will be too close to his breakfast.

When we reached the centre, I would inform the teachers that he had already taken his breakfast so that they would not feed him another round of breakfast there, in case he got overfed. After noticing that he had grown thinner however, we are now trying to let the teachers feed him breakfast again in case he has not gotten his fill since he has skipped a milk feed. Hopefully this will help him gain back some of his lost weight.

Behaviour wise, we have not experienced much difference in terms of discipline. He is still mostly obedient and we are glad he has not gotten any ‘bad influence’ from his peers at the centre. This is probably because most of the kids there are well-behaved, based on what we had seen when we were together with him during his first three days.

As for his development, he has become even more vocal now and he can go on and on while voicing out phrases and sentences. Unfortunately, we are still unable to understand most of the things that he says. ^^|

He is also more aware of our instructions to him and will follow them most of the time, such as going to the toilet to pee or bath, picking up his socks and shoes before going out and getting him to find his water bottle so that he can drink from it.

Noticing all these changes (which are mostly positive) in Darius after he enrolled into the centre makes it harder for us to pull him out from there until Catherine begins her work in September.

Since location and traveling are still the biggest concerns for us, we have been calling up other childcare centres situated in more convenient locations but unfortunately almost all of them are full and will only accept kids born in 2008 at the end of this year.

Right now, we are only left with a week before end of this month when we have to decide if we are to suspend him from the centre for these few months. Hopefully with another week of observation, it will be easier for us to make the final decision.

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