Surviving the "kindergarden admission" ordeal

I have been bugging Surabhi Pande Pant to share her motherhood experiences on MommyBegins. And she finally conceded. Yay.

She has 2 beautiful and absolutely adorable girls who keep her on a spin 24x7. Her younger daughter is about to start school and we all know how difficult the process of search-selection--preparation-admission is. So here's how this mommy cracked the school admission ordeal without traumatising herself or her daughter.

Our search for a school began when our dear daughter (DD) was just about 1.5 yrs old. With forms submitted, we eagerly awaited an interview call, which would be sometime - a year later. Fast forward- YES, the day finally did come.
We were going to have an interview, for which my now 2.5 yr old was all prepared for -- nursery rhymes to alphabets to colours to shapes and many more such ' must know' things. But, of course being an international school, it turned out to be an observation based interview.
I walked into the nursery classroom, holding little hands of my daughter in my nervous sweaty hands. My daughter was greeted by a teacher with a big warm smile and a ' hi-five'. The kids were encouraged to play with the various options that were placed in front of them - play dough, water play, blocks, paints, toys etc. The teachers just sat at the far end of the class making observations. With fear gripping me about what my daughter would do next, I looked around for her. She had comfortably seated herself by the blocks and begun making a tower. She even managed to exchange a few smiles and play along with a couple of kids.
At the end I walked out of the classroom like a proud mommy. No, we didn't get through the interview (actually results are still awaited), but only a toddler's Mum would know that it's like a battle won, if your child didn't fight for a toy or throw a major fit over some insignificant thing.
That day indeed was more like a test for me, but for now as I write my experience down, it only brings a big smile to my face- a smile of relief indeed.

You did good Mommy. Keep us posted on that admission call.