Transiting to Primary One is a big deal for kids. It's the beginning of formal education in Singapore and for many of the kids, it's their first encounter with serious and intensive studying. Apart from the kid feeling the stress and heat, the parents usually get stressed up and nervous as well, especially if it's the first time for them. I started this series to document the chronological order of events, my intimate thoughts and emotions on this journey, and it will continue until Joey settles down in Primary One. Hopefully, as we go along, the posts would become more and more positive and encouraging. I do believe in that. :)

Wednesday
6 March 2013
11.23pm

I've always known that Joey loves reading, but I didn't realise that she loves it SO MUCH. Ever since her Form Teacher announced that they would be issued borrower's card for the school library, she would nag at me to ask the teacher everyday, when the card was finally going to come. I thought it was just a novelty and she was getting excited over a new venture in her life. But 1 month has passed, and this passion for reading continued to blossom.

Because she reaches her school pretty early everyday, she has lots of time to spend in the library everyday. That is a good thing of course - Better to hang around in the library than near the bookshop, ahem. And because the school library card allows her to borrow 4 books each time, she would come home with 4 books everyday.

At the beginning, she chose the hardcover and really huge books, which made her school bag so terribly heavy everyday. We tried to explain to her that she didn't have to rush through reading 4 books every day, and it would suffice to borrow just one book each time. But she refused to listen. The only difference was, she started borrowing books that are thinner, smaller but have more words.

Not only would she conscientiously read her books before school, in the school bus and at home, she would also update her Reading Record Book religiously. It is basically a book that encourages the kid to not just read, but to do some simple reviews of the books they've read, draw pictures of the book covers, etc. Seriously, if it were me, I would not even bother with it. After all, it's not a piece of homework that I need to hand in! But because the school librarian is her best friend, and the school library her favourite place in school, Joey completes everything with much gusto and willingness. She totally deserves a pat on her back for her diligence in this area.

For her hard work, she got Princess stickers from her librarian, which she was very proud of.

Then the other day, she came home and told me that she was the school's TOP READER OF THE MONTH! In the span of one month, she borrowed and read 67 books - what a feat! Her name and class appeared on the notice board outside the library. Coincidentally, the 2nd top reader is a boy from her class as well. Looks like there are many avid readers in her class!

And that was the story of her first accomplishment in Primary School. :)