It was Kaia’s first day at her new school for 3K today. We had to wake her up a bit earlier to get her ready — light breakfast, changed, teeth brushed, hair done, sunscreen on. After taking some quick first day of school pictures, Chris was able to get Kaia out the door by 7:50. They made it to the front door of the school by 8:20 and waited to be admitted.

It was a bit chaotic. One of the administrators came out to take all the school supplies from the parents. We were told we’d get access to a Google site and Remind app. I emailed the admins about some information about Kaia (e.g. potty training status, silicone bib for meals, afterschool care payment/receipt). I never got a response. It’s 9pm after school has ended, and we still have no email or ETA on when we’re getting access to either.

At pickup, I rang the bell and after a teacher came out to greet me and told me she’d get Kaia ready, I waited outside the locked door for another 10-plus minutes before she came out with Kaia. The teacher’s assistant said she spoke Chinese and English to the kids. This made me wary: how much Chinese are they are really getting if the second teacher speaks both to the kids??

The admin came back from what I think was an errand, and she let me know how Kaia’s day was. She ate well, played well, made one new friend, and did not nap at all. The admin told me about the carbs she ate, but didn’t give specifics about fruit, protein, etc. I had to ask separately about supper, which is served for the afterschool program kids. I wasn’t told what they learned today. The admin then clarified that the second (Mandarin) teacher was actually another teacher, not the TA I just met. The Mandarin teacher just had to leave early today, so the admin was stepping in for the Mandarin teacher to lead the afterschool program activities.

I thought Kaia would be really happy to see me at pickup, but this was not the case. The funny thing was: when Kaia came out the front door, she didn’t seem excited or happy to see me. She looked more stunned or shocked. But when I kneeled down to hug her, she immediately hugged me and grabbed me, trying to climb on me so that I’d hold her. She clearly missed us.

I hope this is just a rough patch in the beginning of the school year and that these mishaps are not indicative of what the rest of the year is going to be like.