Thai Preschool

Claire's first day of school

We decided to start Claire in a local Thai preschool, mostly because the international schools here are so expensive. Some friends recommended a school near our house, so after checking it out, we signed her up. I was amazed by the size of the school and the breadth of offerings for a preschool. These first couple weeks have definitely been an adjustment for Claire (I hear plenty of complaints when I wake her up in the morning) but by the end of the day when I pick her up, she seems to have enjoyed the activities. We signed her up for ballet, music and tae kwon do (all offered during the school day), and that has seemed to break up her long day of listening to all Thai being spoken. The most interesting thing for me has been the variety of uniforms that they issued her: "sports" (pictured above and worn on Mondays), regular (3 shirt/skirt type dresses worn T-Th), 2 pajamas (for nap time), a swimsuit and cap, 2 aprons, outfits for ballet and tae kwon do, as well as a soap dish, toothbrush, talcum powder and comb. She is learning a lot of Thai customs like greeting elders with a bow, using the fork to scoop your food onto the spoon, methods for brushing teeth, using the bathroom, etc. She now tells us, "That's not the way we do it at school." We're hoping she makes friends and learns some Thai, but either way, we'll probably start her at an international school for kindergarten (once the tuition benefit kicks in).