Wednesday 16 February 2011

Joshua starts Prep: a big day for Planet Baby

Well, lovely Planetarians, after two *long* months of summer holidays, today marked the beginning of a new chapter on Planet Baby. Joshie started full-time Prep, the first ‘proper’ school year before Grade 1. And the first day of the next 13 years at school! It’s been rather odd for me to have been reading all the mums’ posts about their children returning to school for weeks now – Tasmania has three school terms, unlike the other states and territories with four, so our timing is out of kilter with the rest of the country. There’s a little explanation of it here. The build-up had been quite laid-back given he attended Kindergarten for three days a week at another school last year so he was used to the concept. We met his teacher again yesterday to calm any last-minute nerves and then today the moment arrived. I’ll let the photos tell the story.
Here’s my darling firstborn in his long shorts, giving his beloved Polo the Polar Bear a last hug before heading off to school.
Time for a last minute cuddle and jokes with his siblings before we loaded up the chariot and zoomed off, arriving just as the bell was sounding!

Joshua soon found his drawer’s nametag and started his drawing to decorate it. Here’s the artist at work, the very picture of concentration.
The end result? Yes, long-time Planetarians will have guessed it – a dinosaur! A stegosaurus, to be precise. As he is ☺.
I am so unbelievably proud of my little fellow, seeing how far his fine motor skills have come in the past year.

And then he started chatting to his teacher – I think he’s going to enjoy learning with her, judging from this beaming smile!
And so, India, Sam and I bid our fond farewells and our bright-as-a-button Preppy boy raced off, smiling, all set to discover something new. Yep, it was as easy as that! Granted, our old neighbour is in his class so he at least has a friend but everything else is brand new. All the names and rules to learn, finding out where everything belongs and making new friends.

Oh, and the strangest thing of all was that I started Prep in that exact room in 1976! Talk about déjà vu! I suspect Joshie is even using the hook I had in the cloakroom. Then, to make it more surreal, within a minute, I had spotted four other mums I’d gone to school or uni with, all dropping off their littlies. Just too funny. Suddenly, I felt like some responsible-middle-aged-mum ☺. And to top it all off, there’s a lovely lady in her 70s who helps out as a teacher’s aide who was the cleaner when I was at school there in the late 1970s. And she remembered me. Dead set. It could only happen in Hobart…

So then our normal Wednesday routine began. We walked India up the path to her daycare – they conveniently have an annexe at the school for the 3-5 year olds. Bonus – no double drop-off for A Certain Mother (well, on Wednesdays, at any rate – I’ll still have to do it on Mondays when Sam is at the other site). So, Sam and I had our first day together for months. And gee, he missed his siblings! His reunion with them was very tender and sweet. Both Joshie and India had brilliant days which was a huge relief for us all. And Miss India was delighted to end the day with having her face painted with – you guessed it – a pink butterfly!
So, our huge day on Planet Baby is drawing to a close. Mr PB is taking the next two days off so I’m looking forward to taking you on another wander around Hobart with me, seeing what high jinks I got up to on the weekend! Er, time for bed – not good for bloggy rehab… 
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29 comments:

  1. Oh don't worry, that so could happen in Adelaide too :-)
    congrats mum and josh on a great looking first day!!
    xxxCate

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  2. sounds like first day of prep was smooth sailing for you all! I was smiling reading about it being the same classroom- yes, only in Hobart- or tassie for that matter ;)
    Such excellent fine motor skills joshie has!

    pre-kinder starts for us this year... we're all a bit excited about it, even if it is only a couple of hours per week!
    x

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  3. I was hoping with the National Curriculum coming into force next year that we at least could have had some alignment of starting ages, number of compulsory years at school & grade level terminology for us poor folk who happen to move between states whilst our children are at school, but it doesn't seem to be so. I didn't know that Tasmania had the 3 terms system. I can remember 3 terms at primary school but I think that was phased out around year 5 or 6 (1979 or 1980) here in Queensland. Happy school days at Planet Baby

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  4. you did it!!!!!!!!

    he looks so happy!!!!!!!

    and india looks so happy!!!!!

    you really did it!!!!!!

    huge hugs melissa xxx

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  5. Congratulations Josh!
    What a huge milestone and one you obviously handled beautifully.
    I well remember sitting at our front gate, having dropped Sarah off for first day, Jessie and I both sobbing our hearts out.
    Thankfully I still had three little offsiders to keep me company.
    Hope he has a wonderful year.

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  6. What a very big day - He looks pretty happy - I suppose I know half his class too - Hobart's small size is very comforting at times!

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  7. I'm glad it went so well! Waimea Heights - what a nice school. My mum used to teach down there in the early eighties. I used to live right next door and it was so nice and leafy :)
    Nice to see those smiley faces x

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  8. Yeah for smooth starts to Joshie's learning adventures!
    What a wonderfully warm teacher he has and how about being in the same Prep room as you!?!

    Sweet India-butterfly, what a treasure.
    And Quicksilver Sam - how precious to read of his happy hugs when his older siblings returned to the fold.

    Can't wait to read about your adventures with Mr PB, always love seeing more of Hobart through your eyes Jane,

    Felicity x

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  9. Well done Joshua! So thrilled that he settled in so beautifully. Enjoy your 2 days with Mr PB! xx

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  10. BIG day at Planet baby sounds to have gone really well Jane. It must be nice to have some familiarity in the school setting - I'm sure that helped Joshua settle knowing that you were comfortable too. He certainly looks one happy and proud big brother.
    ...and so life moves on to the next stage...
    x

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  11. Love it! Well done all at PB for starting off the school year so smoothly. gxo

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  12. Looks like today went well. Your children are so precious. How old is Joshua? Jack will start what we call Kindergarten in the states in August. He will be in public school though, and private. Loved your post today. I'm trying to play catch up.

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  13. Thanks, ladies! It was such a relief not to have tears or worries. I was having flashbacks to walking into that very room all those years ago and having tears in my eyes when my Mum left. Hopefully it's a sign that we're raising a resilient little chap, fingers crossed.

    LMAG, I totally agree about the need for uniform national starting ages and classes etc. The Tasmanian 3 term system has many adherents as it means holiday times are staggered so they mostly don't coincide with the 'Mainland' holidays. That means it's cheaper for families to fly out (not the 'high' season) and also there are more plane seats available. So there are practical concerns. The long first term is broken up by an extended Easter break.

    Thanks, Miss Melissa - you *get* it. All these little milestones we pass along the way...

    How handy, Sarah, you eagle eye!

    Leigh, Joshie is 5. Every state has different names for classes and starting ages. He did Kinder last year which is non-compulsory. J x

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  14. How good are kindy teachers?!

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  15. love this little snapshot of the first day of school. so happy that it all went smoothly and he has settled in for some great fun and learning. may the joy continue for all of you. Naomi x

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  16. I love Prep, such a cute age to teach.
    He looks so little and gorgeous in his uniform.
    We always do the first day of school pics too, a great tradition.
    How wonderful that he gets to go to your old school and that there are all those familiar faces for you Jane.
    I actually like the three term thing.
    Very clever dinosaur drawing too!
    Enjoy your wander around Hobart sans children.

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  17. Oh the little darling! What a fabulous start he has had! Can you please tell your pixies that my boys received your gift yesterday (we don't get down to the PO Box much as it is in our old suburb). We all marvelled at the beautifully decorated wrapping... such talent... and oh the goodies... big smiles all 'round. Thank you sweetness. A-M xx

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  18. Big sigh of relief Jane, he's going to have a fantastic year!

    I wonder if another benefit of Tassie having three terms is to maximise the holidays when the weather is good. Sunshine seems such a precious commodity here, and one of the side effects of three terms is a longer summer holiday. But having said that, I know I was seriously running out of steam towards the end!

    Enjoy the next couple of days - you deserve some time off!

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  19. What a wonderful day, Jane!! Josh looks so excited and ready to embrace everything. That is an extraordinary number of coincidences, and I can't believe it's the same class room you attended... Life cycles, for sure :)! Congratulations to the whole Green family on your new chapter ahead!

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  20. Congrats on a great first day at school! How fantastic to have such a history with the school!! Very special.

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  21. What a wonderful start to a long journey :)

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  22. Yay for a great start.

    Gorgeous pics!

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  23. oh lovely pics of your big school boy. Our Mister 5 started Kindergarten this year too. Such a time of mix emotions I think. Have a great weekend Jane:)

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  24. what a fabulous dino drawing!

    Congrats to your little guy - this is a huge milestone!

    Gill xo

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  25. Bless, he looks great! So confident! It's such an amazing time in their life. x

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  26. Awww he looks very cute in his uniform, happy and ready for school for sure. I'm glad he had such a great day Jane. xo

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  27. We are still counting down to school (kinder) for Matilda next week - it seems to have taken forever to come around!

    So glad that Joshie has settled in well, and I hope that continues for you.

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  28. Ah, you lovely Planetarians *get* what a big deal it was for us - thanks for all your kind and encouraging comments.

    So fab to see you here, Mrs Woog - I couldn't agree more. And there are 5 completely non-English speakers in the class as well as being a combined Prep/Grade 1 so it will be a challenging year.

    Naomi, you have my utmost admiration for coordinating 7 littlies to get to school.

    Ah, Kat, those photos are precious, aren't they? I still remember posing for that exact photo!

    I'll tell them, A-M - they'll be stoked, They had such fun with the drawing.

    I agree, Sarah - although I note the government is investigating the 4 term option so I'm not sure how much longer we'll have it.

    Hi Jacq So lovely to see one of my oldest friends here. Yes, I was having flashbacks ☺.

    And Ange, I agree - I thought these holidays would never end! J x

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Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts, you gorgeous soul. You've just made my day! J x

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