Justin’s five-week summer class officially ended last May 7, 2010. We have two reasons why we enrolled him in summer class. First, we want him to be doing something productive while on vacation. You see, he gets pretty bored at home, and I can’t blame him as living in a one-bedroom condo unit doesn’t offer much space for kiddie adventure and exploration. Although kids here can frolic in the building playground, he doesn’t really like going there these days. Another reason for enrolling him in summer class is to provide continuity from his Nursery class which ended last March to his Pre-Kindergarten class which begins this June. This way, when school opens next month, he wouldn’t feel uncomfortable in the company of his new teachers and classmates.


Some of Justin’s summer class artworks

Justin’s Daddy was finally persuaded (by me) to allow Justin to attend summer class in preparation for his becoming a Pre-Kindergartner this coming June. Today is the first day of summer classes at Justin’s school. He is attending Puddles & Giggles, a class specifically designed for 3 ½ and 4 ½ years old.

I was actually hoping that the mommy of one of Justin’s classmates in Nursery will give me the gift certificate for summer class that her daughter had won in a raffle during their graduation day last March 13. Her daughter won’t be going to summer class and will be studying in another school this coming school year anyway. But my wish wasn’t granted. I guess I didn’t pray hard enough. LOL! So we had to shell out Php6,800.00 for Justin’s summer class that will last for 5 weeks (April 5 to May 7).

How did Justin’s first day of summer class go? Because Justin has new teachers and new classmates (only four of Justin’s classmates in Nursery were there), he felt somewhat estranged. He cried a little, but he soon got over his initial fear. I hope he feels more comfortable with his new classroom and new classmates and friends tomorrow.

Today is the last day of Justin’s summer class. I should be relieved that five weeks of accompanying him to and from school and having to adjust my work schedule is finally over. That’s exactly the opposite of what I’m feeling. I’m actually a bit sad for two reasons.

First, I have grown accustomed to seeing and talking to the parents and/or yayas (nannies) of Justin’s classmates every day for the past five weeks, his teachers, and the teacher’s aide assigned to their classroom. I feel like they’re our family away from home.

Second, I feel sad for my son because he wasn’t aware that he won’t be seeing his classmates anymore unless they all enroll in the same school come June. Although I told him earlier that it was his last day of class, he didn’t seem to understand that. Besides, Justin seemed to be really having a great time in school, despite the occasional cries and clinginess to mommy.

On a happier note, the teachers tried making this last day of summer class exciting for the kids as they gathered all preschoolers in one big room and made them dance to their hearts’ delight. The kids were given lollipops, too. Of course, the parents had their hands full taking pictures of their little ones.


Justin performing with kids from the other classrooms


Justin with his classmates and teachers


Justin with Teacher Gretchen


Justin with some of his classmates before dismissal time

One thing I noticed about my son Justin when he started going to his summer class is that he likes working with his hands. When it’s time for artwork, whether it’s coloring, finger-painting, or gluing cutouts, feathers, cotton balls or popcorn, he’s one of the firsts to sit around the table where they’re supposed to perform this activity. He doesn’t really mind if his hands get dirty in the process for as long as they get cleaned afterwards.

Some of Justin’s finished artworks

Justin is particularly clingy to mommy today after last Wednesday’s incident. Before we went to school today, he made me promise that I will be in the classroom with him and not outside the classroom by the window.

Teacher G. again reminded us parents to stay outside, so I sneaked out of the classroom to Justin’s utter dismay. He cried again, on and off, during class, but like last week, he still participated in the classroom activities despite his discontent.

What’s funny is he would ask the adults inside the classroom, Ms. C., one of the school’s aides, and a classmate’s grandmother who was allowed inside perhaps because his granddaughter only started going to class last week. (Note: This is the third week that Justin is attending his summer class.) I asked the grandmother what Justin was telling him. She said Justin was asking her, “Where’s mommy? Where’s mommy?”

Justin also did something good today, which made mommy proud. When he was finished eating, he stood up, went to the other side of the room and threw his juice carton in the waste basket.

Today, Justin’s teachers for his nursery summer class, Teacher G. and Teacher M., prevented all parents from going inside the classroom. The teachers will now be solely responsible for these kids.

Justin wouldn’t let go of my hand initially as I was preparing to leave the room, but he soon forgot about mommy when Teacher M. pointed to the toys and invited him to play.

I was standing outside Justin’s classroom the whole time, peeping through the “semi-tinted” (for lack of a better term) windows to see what Justin was doing. As a mother, I was hesitant to leave my son behind for the following reasons: (1) he might grab other kids’ toys; (2) he might bruise/hurt himself or other kids might hurt him; (3) he might fall; and (4) he might get into a fight with other kids.

To my surprise, none of the things I feared happened, although there was this classmate who was deliberately bumping Justin. Good thing, my son wasn’t retaliating. Justin didn’t cry for two hours while inside the classroom, he actively participated in all the activities, and for the first time in more than one week that he’s attending school, he lay down on the mat when it was time for them to rest.

I couldn’t help noticing, though, that it takes longer for Justin to finish his food. When all of his classmates were already roaming around the room or horsing around or lying on the mat, he was still eating. Maybe it’s because at home, he usually eats in front of the TV where his attention is divided between eating and watching.

I hope Justin continues behaving well inside the classroom until he finishes his five-week summer class. By then we will know if he’s ready to go to a regular nursery class this June.

Last week, Justin’s teachers in his nursery summer class advised all parents that starting today, Monday, we should all just be waiting outside the classroom for our children. I intended to follow that instruction and had previously briefed Justin on what he needs to do while mommy is outside.

Did I do that, you might ask? Because there were still some parents inside and the teachers weren’t really driving us out of the room--well, not just yet--I decided to stay inside the classroom but kept my distance.

I decided not to follow Justin around the classroom while he played, but I was quick to remind him not to grab other kids’ toys and to say “borrow” if he really wanted to get hold of the toy that another kid is playing.

By now, Justin is already accustomed to the daily two-hour routine: play, action songs, storytelling, coloring, mealtime prayer, eating time, rest time, storytelling, action songs. Justin is most animated, however, when he plays and when he sings and dances. He actually loves dancing to the tune of “La Bamba” and even performs it at home.




He’s getting a little bit bored with the storytelling part as his teachers keep reading the same story twice every day. The good thing about it is that he has already learned all the animals in that story and is even narrating the same story (his own version) at home.

Tomorrow, I will sneak out of the classroom to see how Justin will behave.

We learned from my husband’s officemate that the school near our place is holding summer classes for young children. Since Justin already knows how to count 1 to 30, identify all but five letters of the alphabet, distinguish between shapes, and sing some nursery rhymes, we decided to let him have his first taste of school.

Parents are allowed to observe first how their children would react to being in a classroom setting, so that’s exactly what we did yesterday, the first day of summer classes. Justin was initially placed in the classroom for nursery students because of his age (2 years and 9 months old). He was later transferred to the toddlers’ room for reasons only the teachers knew. I was guessing it’s because we haven’t paid yet.

How was Justin’s first day of school? When he was in the older kids’ room, he immediately got hold of toys that were lying on the table. He wasn’t intimidated by the presence of the other kids. In the toddlers’ room, he participated actively in the singing, dancing, coloring, eating, hand-washing, and storytelling that went on for two hours. He did not want to go home when it was dismissal time already.


Justin intently listening to Teacher K.'s story


Justin coloring a kangaroo cutout
Justin was too keen on playing and has to be reminded by the teacher often that it’s not time to play yet. His fondness for play has caused him a lot on his first day of school because when he was reaching for a toy truck, it slid and his face ended up flat on the floor. He bit his lower lip in the process, and it bled profusely.

He also has one bad habit when playing. If he likes a particular toy even if his classmate is already playing with it, he would just take it without permission. He feels he has a right to take every toy he pleases. I had to be constantly by his side to prevent him from doing this. According to Teacher D., this type of reaction is normal for kids his age. I really wish he outgrows this negative attitude soon.

We’ve been going to this school for two days now, and so far, so good. Justin is still excited to go to school every day. I hope he finishes his five-week summer class.