Colin starts "Big School"

Colin started reception St. Philip's on September 8. I call it "Big School" because the program will eventually mean full time schooling for him, although for the next few weeks, they will gradually build up to a full day. Plus the school has over 300 students. It's a big change from the very intimate preschool he attended in Burtonsville.

Colin was happy to go to school. There's not the same feeling of being the "new kid" as there was for Timmy and Annie. In Colin's class it's largely new to all of them. He enjoyed the plentiful toys and activities available, especially Playmobil knights and a castle. I stayed for a while to observe today. While we had been hoping that Colin would be able to attend the same school as Timmy and Annie, that appears unlikely to happen, and I've begun to think that I might not be sorry about it after all. Colin's class here has only 20 children while the same class at St. Alban's has 30. I like the school and the staff. They seem to have plenty of resources, including a government initiative that provides free milk and fruit each day for the younger classes. (Although I learned today that Annie says her class gets fruit or vegetable every day also.)

In all, Colin's assessment of the day was, "It was a little great and a little boring." The "great" had to do with the Playmobil toys. The boring had to do with someone being "bad" on the playground. But he's willing to go back. I think he feels more like his brother and sister to be able to go to school too. Bonus for him: the more he's in school, the less he has to walk around the city with me.