I enjoy sending Little Edison to school every morning – although I have to wake up as early as 6:30am. The traveling time is about 20 minutes; I can’t speed because of the heavy morning traffic. On the way, we will chat about his school, teachers and classmates. To him, the school is always a fun place.
To me, going to his school is like revisiting the fun part of childhood. In fact, I fell in love with his school the first time I saw it. The classrooms are spacious and air-conditioned; they are not just tidy but spick-and-span and nicely decorated.
There are interesting corners in the classroom for the children to roam around. On the left hand corner, there is a kitchen-play set-up – complete with kitchen toys, fruits, vegetables, as well as a fruit stall. I wonder who is that ‘fruit seller’. Could he be my boy?
On the right hand corner, there are puzzles, wooden toys, play-doh and blocks. There is also a play mat on the floor, so that the children can sit there and play. At the center of the classroom, there are four tables and 16 chairs. The children are seated in groups of four, according to the name tags on the table. That’s why Little Edison always says, “Jeremy sits next to me.”
There is also a mini-library in the classroom, with many interesting story books and board books. On the walls, the teachers put up the drawings and crafts made by the children. I spotted some of them made by Little Edison. All in all, I was charmed by their children-friendly set-up and holistic approach to learning.
An enjoyable childhood must also include lots of outdoor play. The school has not only one, but two playgrounds. The outdoor playground has a climb-and-slide play area, rocky horses and a few Little Tikes playhouses – which are definitely our boy’s favorite! The indoor playground is a sheltered play area, with various types of ball games, push cars, bicycles and tricycles.
Mmmmm, I wonder how the teachers can handle 16 children in the playground. I guess the most tedious part must be to tell them “Time’s up!” and bring them back to the classroom. What do you think?
There is another corner next to the outdoor playground worth mentioning here. It’s the sand and water play area. There are buckets, pails and shovels for the children to play. Once a week, Little Edison gets to play with water and sand. He will definitely wet his school uniform and the teacher will change him into the set of spare clothing in his bag.
On rainy days, the teacher will bring them to the gym on the second floor. There are big mirrors on the walls. The children will jump, exercise and stretch themselves in the gym.
These are all the extremely fascinating activities in his school, and hopefully, it is one of the joyful moments that Little Edison will grow up remembering. It’s priceless, really!
