The baby steps of a few taster sessions having been taken, today was Niamh’s first full day at nursery. Dropping her off was much easier than we’d imagined it would be, she jumped into the arms of one of the staff and waved good bye with not so much as a whimper.
What happened after this I’m not party to, other than a report card, which we’ll receive every day she’s at nursery. However, the day passed like most others for me only without the feeding, changing and playing. No, today I had to work, which was much less entertaining.
The Daily Report is much more interesting than you might imagine. We have what she ate for breakfast, dinner and tea it also includes what she had for her afternoon snack. Best of all it tells you just how much she managed. In addition it tells us what time her nappies were changed and what was in them, wet or dirty not pissy or shitty, which I think is an opportunity missed. It also told us when she’d slept and for how long.
At first I was cynical about the whole idea, but I spent a good deal of time studying the report trying to fill in the blanks. Normally I would have known everything that went in between too but because I didn’t and my only connection to her day was this piece of paper it held a special significance. By all accounts she was a bit upset when we left, but soon calmed down and spent much of the day climbing and playing and having fun. This is exactly what we had wished for, obviously.
When I went in to pick her up she was sat in a room with just two other children, all that was left at 5pm on a Friday. When she saw me her face lit up, for about a millisecond, and then crumpled into tears. Almost as if she’d just worked out I’d not been there all day. Still, she calmed down just as quickly. I think we can safely say that the first day at nursery was a success.
