Eya's 3rd Day at Summer School

I did not sit in for the most part of the session so I had to rely on the teachers regarding feedback.

FILTER IN

I went with Eya inside the classroom at the start of the class. Then when it seemed that she's getting interested in what's happening, I slowly went out, but stayed outside to peek.

After a few minutes, she looked for me. Then she cried softly with her hands over her face. But then she saw Teacher Ayla holding out some colored cartolina cut-outs and her interest was instantly caught.

MAKING DOOR HANGER

Eya forgot to look for me all throughout the activity. She was so absorbed with what they're doing, designing a door hanger. Her hands were so busy gluing sequences and "shimmers" on the cut-out, with the assistance of teacher Ayla.

After washing her hands, she roamed around the room a little and 'inspected' what everybody else was doing.

Everything went well, until snack time.

SNACK TIME

I was telling teacher Ana about Eya's things for snacks and nap time, when Eya caught a glimpse of me outside the door. Oh dear, everything would have gone smoothly if not for that. When she saw me, she started crying and wailing so loudly that I almost went back inside. But the teachers took charge so I let them handle the situation. I went into the play area, but i can still hear Eya crying. It was hard for me to listen to her crying like that but I think it would also be good for her to be set at ease with that group so that her socialization skills would improve.

Anyway, as teacher Joy told me later, she was able to drink most of her milk. She'd stop crying, then after a few minutes, start again.

STORYTELLING TIME

They read a book about elephants. Teacher Owen said that Eya stayed within the circle the whole time, which is an improvement. But there were times though when she was not paying attention. But that's okay. At least she sat within the circle the whole time, a sign that her patience with this activity is improving. During dismissal time, when I asked her about her time at school, she answered, "dami elephants!" (Plenty of elephants!) This is a sign that the activity stuck in her mind somehow.

NAP TIME

She was no longer crying came nap time. But as with the previous days, she was not able to nap. Teacher Joy said that she took her pillow and sat in a corner with Angelica, not making any noise. This is in contrast with her other hyper "nap" times, where she'd be moving around and doing all sorts of things. Maybe she behaved that way because I was not there. Maybe she was still feeling a bit abandoned and down. In any case, she was not her usual hyper self.

SCIENCE EXPERIMENT (Mixing Colors & Hot and Cold Water)

The activity caught her attention. Teacher Owen said that although she did not actively participate (maybe since this was the first time she experienced such activity), she sat at the front of the circle the whole time, observing. This is again a sign that her attentiveness is improving; her attention span getting longer. When I again asked her what they did, she said, "colors, colors!" I think she was referring to this activity. It was a good sign that she remembered this activity as well.

DISMISSAL TIME

Due to lack of time, they were not able to play outside. I was eager to see Eya after her being cooped up in the classroom for hours. And by the looks of her, with her face looking like it was about to smile and cry at the same time, she was also eager to see me. After the tight hug, she showed me her sequences and "shimmers" with delight, while saying, "'di na cry Eya, very good." (Eya's no longer crying, very good.)

I hope that she'll not cry tomorrow, at least not that hard again. I might not be able to take it two days in a row and might end up sitting in once more just to stop her tears.