Reporting from kindergarten front-lines…
At the end of day one, the parents gathered in the school yard waiting for their kids to exit the buildling, like paparazzi waiting for movie stars.
When Rada appeared, she was at the front of her line, holding her teacher’s hand and scanning the crowd for my face. When she saw me, she broke into a smile that brought tears to my eyes.
Later that evening I heard all about the day. Rada doesn’t de-brief me (though I wish she would). Rather, she acts out the day with her animals. So we acted out kindergarten, and I learned about the red table, and the blue table, and how each child was asked to identify the shape in front of them. With Rada as ‘Ms Calvert’ I learned alot about staying in line and looking with my eyes. Apparently kindergarten is about crowd control and classroom procedures. Basic training for 6 year olds.
This morning, day two, was fraught with potential disaster. I had relied on dropping her off for the early-morning supervised breakfast in order to get to work for a special meeting. However, yesterday the breakfast never appeared. I was worried it would be the same case today. Or worse the breakfast would appear but Rada would cling to me.
But it is the dawn of a new age.
We got to school, and the teacher monitoring the door said, “Come on in, breakfast is ready.” With barely a backward glance, Rada marched in with the rest of the students. I stood there a moment, flummoxed, and then ran after her, begging for a hug goodbye. I guess I was the clingy one.
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