Learning About Life

At the beginning of the academic year, when Irini first enrolled in Prep Reception (as it is called here), we were asked to provide input about our child. Her interests. Her strengths, etc., etc. Among the several things they requested was what our goals would be for her for the academic year. At the time Laurence had written that he wanted her to enjoy being in school, to learn to socialize in a positive way and to learn to read and write. The latter, as it turns out, stressed Ms. Wu a bit and she took the time to talk about that when we had our first parent-teacher conference all those month ago. She had asked us to be patient. She showed us examples of what reading and writing look like for the average 3 to 4 year old. She tried, as best as she could, to make us realize that perhaps it was premature to ask Irini to read and write. She described what would probably be the outcome as "pre-reading" and "pre-writing". Laurence and Natalia were both happy to acknowledge that all that pre stuff would suffice quite nicely and that, really, as long as education was a positive experience for Irini the rest would take care of itself.

Now, months later, Irini is growing physically, emotionally, socially and cognitively by leaps and bounds. Her vocabulary, as we have discussed before, has grown as has her syntax, grammar and confident in speaking. She has impressed us with everything she has learned. Her counting has improved ("pre-math") and her artwork has developed impressively (we don't think that the art is considered "pre"). She in on the cusp of writing her name on a regular basis ("actual writing") and is able to read numbers without problem ("actual reading"). In short, she has been very successful in her first year to date. She has shown mastery in many things and seems to be at ease in class. She looks forward to going and, in general, is very content with everyone around her - peers and adults.

An online newsletter of her class events arrives to our inbox every week and, with it, often slideshows and short videos of the work done in class. On occasion she will be seen surrounded by her classmates, sometimes wearing traditional Indian, Malay and/or Chinese outfits. This week it was International Fest. Irini posed in front of a Colombian, US and Greek flag to show her multiculturalism. She seems to be well adjusted, positive and eager to learn. We can't wait to see what else is in store for her, and through her, for us as well.

Learning every day.