Hi Anien,
Jenna has settled in so well at Grantleigh, we are exceptionally proud of our big girl.
We received a letter in her message book from her teacher this week, which I just had to share with you.
Dear Taryn,
Jenna has settled into Grade R at Grantleigh with ease. She is a very attentive little student and already has a love for school. She listens carefully to instructions and is always willing and eager to participate during class. She is a very happy, well developed and well mannered child.
You can be one very proud Mommy!
Regards,
Mrs Frost
When Jenna turned 2, I remember Wessel and I taking 2 days off work and going to spend an hour at just about every pre-primary school in Richards Bay! As first time parents, it felt like the biggest decision we ever had to make, and being so inexperienced, we weren't quite sure what to base our decision on.....
Walking into Little Peoples Play centre was an eye opener, there seems very little control by the teachers and the kids where totally running a mock! At St Francois, the little 3 year olds sat super quiet and just listed to the teacher and knew not to dare step out of line - way too much discipline at such a young age, for our liking. Our search went on as we went to Wonder kids, Anna Muis and just about every school listed on the Municipalities web site as a pre school. Our last stop was Mouse House...... we spend almost an hour with Petra at Mouse House on a hot Friday afternoon. We had taken Jenna with us to each visit and it was amazing how at ease Jenna, Wessel and myself felt at Mouse House. We had truly saved the best visit for last! 2 weeks later Jenna started school at Mouse House!
Our little princess truly blossomed into a gem at Mouse House. And looking back today, we can see that the grooming done at Mouse House is so relevant to "big school" which has aided in the easy transition.
The major focus areas for Grade R at Grantleigh are : Swimming, Art, Music, Computers and Language.
Swimming - Thanks to Bronwen's lessons at Mouse House, Jenna is one of the top swimmers in her class already - those that are not confident swimmers get to swim in the baby pool and those that are keen, swim in the big pool (in the racing lines!) - Madam is a big pool swimmer!
Art - Judging by the 3 black bags of paint stained clothes I turfed out during December, she was well exposed to art at Mouse House!
Music - from the age of 2 she would come home singing songs that she learnt at school - most of them had to be taught to mom and dad too! (oom olifant , vlieg n vooltjie van ver af... en vissies in die water).... all new songs to Wessel and I!
Computers - she is very confident in the computer room, thanks to Helena "I can do computers"
Language - Jenna is completely bilingual, thanks to the English and Afrikaans friends she had at Mouse House.
Looking back now, we can honestly say that Mouse House was the perfect stepping stone. The foundation laid at Mouse House is rock solid, Grantleigh only need to keep adding layers of bricks, no need to redo the foundation.
Thank you Anien, Petra, Sophia and Zelda - you ladies have played a critical role in developing our princess and have done a superb job!
Regards
Taryn