Yesterday was DanDan's first day at big school. Well nursery really, but the difference is only a corridor. We are quite lucky, as we were worried that we might not get him into the school we wanted. After an enquiry last week from Nicole about when the open day was, she got invited to the school to discuss a new venture they wanted to pilot. DanDan was 3 in November and traditionally children don't start nursery until they are 4. However, the school wanted to pilot a scheme where they could introduce children slightly earlier.
After the visit on Friday, Nicole got the impression the staff thought they'd made a good choice with DanDan. Thanks largely to Nicole's efforts he is quite advanced for his age. He can draw and paint pretty well, even holds the pencil right too. He can construct quite well thoughtout sentences and rarely has a problem getting his point across. A lot of frustration for kids is when they can't tell you what they want. Thankfully DanDan's language skills are quite adept. He's also very socialable, especially with the girls :)
Nicole on the other hand is anxious beyond belief. She doesn't like the idea that she now has to give him up to the outside world, and that she no longer will be the guiding light in his life. While I think she's done a wonderful job, I do think he is ready for the next stage. He's only doing a few mornings a week, so it'll not be too demanding for him or Nicole.
The biggest plus point about the nursery is that it's a Forest School. Every Wednesday, all year round, they take a trip into the woods to learn about the weather, the wildlife and among many other useful and fun things. Apparently it's an idea started in Denmark, and thankfully the nursery and school back onto the Lickey Hills and woods.
I was looking forward to all the news when I got home last night, but alas he had already gone to bed. So I got it all this morning. I asked if he wanted to go again, 'Yes I'm going on Friday'. After dropping him off, Nicole was quite disappointed that he didn't seem bothered she was leaving him. Another mum was astonished to discover this was the first time ever he had been left without a family member on hand. Her son had taken 4 weeks before she could finally leave him.
By all accounts he's settled in very well and made several friends. Parents evening should be interesting :)
