It was Ebony’s first parents evening tonight. Preschool wasn’t quite so formal, so the most feedback I ever got from there was that Ebony once said, “My mummy just can’t stop talking to people,” once when I was running late to pick her up. Thirty seconds late, I might add.
The nursery she goes to is attached to a local school so is much more formal. They still get to enjoy plenty of free play, but they have to wear uniforms. And we have to go to parents evening. I’m not really bothered about any of the academic stuff just yet. I think three year olds should be having fun, getting lost in their imaginations and creating a mess. I tend to follow Ebony’s interest, if she expresses an interest in something then we’ll learn about it, if not, fine.
I’m much more interested in the social side of nursery. How she gets on with other children, how she responds to the teachers and how she overcomes conflict with her classmates. I want to know whether she’s happy and I know that she is because she is excited to go to nursery every single day.
Today was Ebony’s first parents evening, so we left her at home with my mum. They were running behind so we had a bit of a wait when we got there, which is fine because I like that they don’t rush the parents. We sat down on some tiny plastic chairs and waited. Laurie fell off his. Loudly. Smack onto the floor. Then it was our turn to be seen.
The teacher said Ebony is a real character, that she says funny things and would be an entertaining interviewee on television. She said Ebony is enthusiastic and always wants to get involved in whatever they’re doing. She said Ebony has a great friend, one who she gets on really well with, but who she can be a little mischievous with. I know this, of course, because I see them leaving a path of destruction in their wake on the way home from nursery. They are wild things these two girls, wild and free, just as they should be at three. She said that’s fine, that it’s ok to be a little mischievous. For now.
