On Friday the kids had their annual Open Day at Soong Ching Ling Kindergarten, where the parents can spend some time with the children in their class rooms. Last year it was fun to see Scott in this regular school environment, so this year I of course blocked the morning in my calendar so I could join.
As usual there were lots of moms and grandparents at the open day, but hardly any fathers. In Scott’s class with about 20 kids I think there were only one or two other fathers. I think it’s a pity for them that they can’t take time off to see their kids play in school. Most of them have their owns businesses or are top business people, so they don’t have to live other people’s agendas. It’s important for the kids to see their parents, but for me it’s also important to see what kind of things Scott and Elaine learn during class and who their teachers and classmates are.
Two kids actually had no parents coming at all, I felt really sorry for them. If both Grace and me would not be able to come I would keep my kids home on a day like this. The two kids were now sitting with a teacher during the morning, while all others were happily playing with their parents.
We first went to Scott’s class, where the kids sang two songs for us (one in English and one in Chinese). Then they had to make a little man with paper, glue and some strings for the hair. The parents could help them, so most were done in about 10 minutes. Then it was free indoor playtime. The classroom has lots of games, books and a big collection of toys to play with. Scott first played with a train and with some cars and then picked 2 puzzles to make. He didn’t need my help, but he liked me being there.
Grace had already gone to Elaine’s class (the times overlapped a bit), and I stayed with Scott until all parents were leaving. Then I also walked over to Elaine’s classroom, where she was playing happily with a puzzle.
When she finished she cleaned up the puzzle (they learn that well in school) before starting to play with a hitting game with a plastic hammer. She is such a sweet girl: when I told her to hit me on the head with her hammer, she said “no daddy, that hurts!”.
It’s nice to observer my kids in the classroom. They really seem to enjoy school. Every morning when I take them to school they are happy to be there and during the Open Day they were proud to show us their skills.
When it was time to go home Elaine actually did not want to leave. Only when she saw that all other kids were leaving as well she packed her toys away and went to change her indoor shoes for outdoor ones. I am happy to see that she is happy in school, and also that Scott is excited to go to school every day.
