First day of school

We survived the first day of school! And I think the kids are eager to go back -- hooray! It wasn't entirely easy getting all three ready and out of the door (nor was it easy the night before to get name tags in everything). And John had an early class so I had to take them solo. Liv and Jack were the first to be ready.
Katie, on the other hand, does not like her uniform. Not because she has problems conforming to the school's traditional expectations or wishes to express her individuality in more flamboyant ways, oh no... nothing like that. She thinks her coat is just too big. And it doesn't feel good. I said we just had to *bring* the coat and that was fine. No go.














So this is how Katie was for about 15 minutes before (well, five minutes before and 10 minutes after) we were supposed to leave. At last, I picked her up, grabbed her backpack, and carried her to school (about 10-15 minutes away). To no one's surprise, we were late. And I *think* some of Kate's reluctance was not so much about the coat, but about the whole going to school thing, as this is their first encounter with any kind of preschool at all. So the whole way there, all 30 pounds of her in my arms, I told her how she would probably get to color, play, sing songs, the works. I don't know if my talk helped or if she had just given up, but she actually did great once we got in the door.

Jack's teacher was there (waiting -- sigh) and he happily went off with her. Kate and Liv's teacher was also there, and helped me bring all of their gear in. Inside shoes were put on, outside shoes stashed in cubbies, backpacks hung up (although Jack pointed out that all of the other kids had a bag with one strap and not a backpack. I said his backpack was WAY cooler.) Then the teacher showed K&O where to hang their big towel and cup (in a cup bag, which is labelled) and that first thing they should wash their hands and then drink some water... and gargle. Really. They have never really gargled before (when they brush, they just swish some water around in their mouths) but they gave it a try! Then to their seats where they introduced them (Katie-chan and Olivia-chan, and noted how Olivia has "ichi" braid and Katie has "ni" braids).

They started up with singing, clapping, and K&O were able to follow along. Then time for coloring (and Katie raised her hand when one of the teachers appeared to ask who wanted orange paper.) A teacher had drawn a bear and I think the kids were supposed to draw bears (the song may have been about a bear, too, from what I could tell with the hand gestures). I had remembered my electronic dictionary and so was able to ask (sort of) some questions... and asked if they were to draw a bear, or if they could just draw anything. She said "anything ok". So they just scribbled. They had a great time scribbling. Then she handed out something else to color and they had a great time with that. I went to check on Jack (who was doing GREAT in gym class -- clearly having fun and a perfect way to start for him) and when I came back, I asked if they were OK. The teacher said "OK" but looked worried. She got their drawings out and paused and said "Excuse me... but what IS this?" Oh dear. I think they were supposed to draw bears. And my dictionary didn't have a phrase for "just scribbing!"

In the 90 minutes before lunch, all 25 kids in the class went to the bathroom together twice (boys and girls together), and washed their hands at least five times. I checked in a few more times with Jack (who continued to be fine) and helped the girls with lunch. At one point, Liv leaned over to me and whispered "but what are they all talking about?" and I realized just how strange all of this must be for them. Lunch was provided at school and Jack ate most of it (he didn't like the tea but was able to ask for water) but the girls didn't touch a thing. This also worried the teacher. She looked at me sadly and said "Like bread?" "Hai (yes)" I said, very much, and it's not just them. She continued to be worried and pointed out that there will be bread on Oct. 27. The worry over their poor appetite continued and my dictionary didn't have the phrase for "They're both actually quite picky eaters even at home in Canada and probably more so here today when they are freaked out and overwhelmed by not only being in preschool but by being in preschool in Japan," but I just promised to feed them a lot at home before they come, and after school is out. I made some gestures too, and threw in some apologies, and promised again that, really, I would feed them A LOT before school tomorrow so it's OK if they don't eat.

All seemed well at about 1 p.m., so I told them I was going to leave for a while... I was able to get groceries and run a few errands... but when John and I came back to pick them up at 2:15, the teacher was holding Katie who apparently had been crying most of the time I was gone. They went to see Jack and it didn't help... my gut felt horrible... I had abandoned my babies to have an easy time to get groceries! But the angst wasn't at the abandonment, we found out once we were able to talk to her about it. She said she was SO excited because they were given little calendars...

... and she was so excited and wanted to show me and was mad/sad I wasn't there to see. Sigh. The good news is that she LOVED school and is VERY excited to come back. I said I would come for part of the day tomorrow, but that I would have to leave again. She said that was OK.

Jack is the third oldest kid in his class of about 30 (with 1 teacher -- and every time I popped in it was all under control). The girls are on the younger end in their class of about 25 (with two teachers, also always under control)... at least from what I could tell when asking how old they were at lunch (many fingers showing FOUR!)

The cost is not too bad for three kids, two times a week for 4.5 hours each time (including lunch). It will run just under $100 a kid per month, or $12.50 a day -- a pretty good deal actually. And if they are having fun (which it seems that they will), and if it allows them to interact with more kids, then it will be well worth it.

Speaking of interacting with kids -- Hiromi and Ayumu were walking by our house yesterday and we invited them in. We hadn't seen them in a while because of all of the sightseeing and biking. But we had a great visit, and Hiromi asked if I needed help with anything (she had looked up phrases and written them down, and I was able to use my little electronic dictionary). I asked if she could come to the grocery store with me some time to read labels... she was glad to help! We will go on Friday... she also promised to teach me how to make some good Japanese food. I feel very lucky to have met her.

John is teaching a late class tonight (Wednesdays are his long day)... but the work is going well. I think the people at HGU are very happy with him and the students seem pleased that he can throw a little bit of Japanese in. The university has set up a trip for us this weekend to a place called Lake Toya (I think...). Apparently, there is a waterslide at the hotel -- good news for these weary travellers!