S for SCHOOL

Sera checking out what the other children were having for lunch

School for Sera. You've got to be kidding me!

Well it all started with an advertisement by a school I saw in the local newspaper: 'Summer FUN for kids 3 - 8 years old'. I thought that wasn't such a bad idea since it is blazing hot here in Doha during the summer months and the fact is, children can't be outdoors for most of their waking hours thus many outdoor activities have to be taken indoors. Hmm, what about kids for Sera's age? Any 'fun' activities for them? I scoured the local online forums and discovered, to my delight, that there was one particular nursery that was offering summer sessions for Sera's age group. Cool!

Like her Waterbabes swimming lessons, I thought this would be another great opportunity for Sera's socializing skills, among other things. Besides, one is never too young to make friends, isn't it?

We went to check out the school, which was about a 20-minute drive (off-peak hours) from home. The location wasn't very ideal as there were high possibilities of traffic jams along that route. But nonetheless, that nursery (to my knowledge) was the only one offering summer session for sera's age group. As a mother, I was strangely anxious ... I guess it felt like I was enrolling Sera into actual school, her first step in the pursuit of education. I even made sure Sera was dressed in an outfit without holes or frays, matching socks and her hair was combed down. Ha ha ... I mean really, who was I trying to impress yah?

Well apparently, NO ONE!

The school (let's call it school X) was a let down. In my opinion, it was carelessly decorated and lacked the vibrancy and enthusiasm I would have expected and experienced from a school catered to toddlers. Aesthetics aside, we met with the principal who was pleasant and seemed experienced enough. One of the teacher assistants kindly gave us a haphazard tour of the school and much to my disappointment, my impressions only got worse. There was a pungent smell coming from the toilet, the very 'easy to pull down CD player sitting on the shelf' because the wire was exposed, the lack of assistants in the classroom of sixteen, very bored and unstimulated 1-year olds ... and the half-eaten slice of apple on the toy shelf! Alarm bells for all sort of undesirable situations were going off in my head! I couldn't possibly enrol Sera in this school, I would rather lock her up at home till she was 16 years old. Ok, I know, mama-dramatic here but my mama instincts took the better of me.

Anyway, we politely thanked the principal, the assistant and told them we'd fill up the forms and drop them off another time. NOT! Ok, technically I wasn't lying ... I was planning to discuss this school (which I'd never enrol Sera into) with Johan, later that evening.

So after that little hiccup of a nursery, I was strangely determined and curious to check out other nurseries in the nearby vicinity of our home. Through a recommendation of a friend, we checked out a nursery (school Y) just a 5 minutes drive away from our home. Wow, I mean ... no other school could have been nearer to home than this one. No chance of being in a jam at all! The school was a vast improvement from 'school X'. No strange smells, no exposed wires, no uneaten apple ... instead clean and spacious rooms, a wooden table with chairs where all the kids sat and ate at, two assistants to one teacher and most importantly, happy children!

We even left Sera to play with the children in the classroom and she was very happy indeed. Not once did she turn back to look for me! The receptionist gave me a brief tour of the school and I have to say, I was quite pleased with the child-safe environment, the few teachers I met, their assistants and again, the happy faces of the children. I took the enrolment package, collected Sera from the classroom and left the school, feeling some hope after all.

We've yet to drop off the enrolment forms to 'school Y', for Sera's September pre-school intake, just yet. Johan and I have discussed this whole school issue and have decided that it is a positive thing, more pros than cons, to send Sera to pre-school this early. Honestly, I never imagined sending her to school at the age of 1. I mean, which crazy parents do that??? Apparently, many many parents! A principal I met during our school recce expressed much puzzlement and a hint of disapproval when she found out I hadn't put Sera's name in a school list even before she was born. My goodness me, what a totally bad and irresponsible mother I am. I mean ... I have put little Sera's quest for knowledge on a line because while she was swimming in my belly, I failed to put her name on a desired school's list. Oh come on, give me a break!

This episode of finding a nursery for Sera was unexpected to say the least. I'm was feeling some apprehension about sending Sera to 'school' this early. I mean, she has like a 100 more years of schooling ahead of her! In any case, we'll see how she responds to pre-school come this September. If she loves it, she can stay ... if she hates it (like how her mama did, well in my defense, they made me sing silly songs and do stupid dances), she can definitely leave. No stress whatsoever!

*For sensitive reasons, names of the schools have been intentionally left out.