Aisha's First Days in Daycare (19 Months Old)

Bening Daycare

The Daycare

Due to one and the other things (bahasa Inggrisnya "karena satu dan yang lain hal" kayak begini bukan sih? hehe), we decided to no longer hire my baby Sitter for Aisha. I have to admit that I feel very sad since the baby sitter has helped us since Aisha was born, 1,5 years ago. Aisha loves her too. However, at this moment, I am not thinking to look for another nanny, I know that my perfection and high qualification for a nanny will make it next to impossible to find a new nanny in Jakarta in a short time. Therefore, I prefer to search for the a good daycare in my neighborhood than to try to find a replacement of our previous nanny. In short, after visiting 4 daycares around our house in Depok, and reviewing so many others through their websites, we finally decided to put Aisha in "Bening Daycare", located around 2 KM from our house, and on the way to the train station. There are several considerations on why finally we choose this daycare among some others:

• The toys are abundant! And most of them are Aisha's favourite which we do not have at home (since they are "big--and expensive-toys", only see them in Playgrounds --and Ace Hardware of course haha), such as: Ayunan,Plosotan, and 5 types of  colourful "kuda-kudaan", all from famous brand Little Tickes, etc. This toys are apart from any other toys such as dolls, puzzle, blocks, wire game, balls, etc. Also there are several small chairs and tables which always attract Aisha's attention; Aisha loves to say: "duduk..duduk..". Some other Daycares do not have the toys as this much, or they keep the toys only for a special sessions (not being exposed all the time), and Aisha already has most of the toys in other daycares at home.
• The location is just soooo perfect. It is close to our house, and we can drop Aisha before we go to train station for working. Even I picked Aisha by my own, using motorcycle (I put Aisha's in my "gendongan punggung"), as I only take a short rute and a quite one.
• The environment is homy where the main "caregiver" is the family in the house: Mother (the owner), Grandmother (Aisha called her "nenek", which is new for her since she always called grandmother with "mbah"). There are 2 additional teachers who come from 8am to teach a session, and continue to take care of the kids up to the evening. 
• The house is quite big, it is alot bigger than our house and all of the locations are functioned as playground. I like this environment as Aisha will always be in the playground most of the time, the place where all kids should be.
• The class session is just matched for me. It is only 1 to 2 hours in the morning from 8 am to 9.30 maximum. And the activities are vary from religious activities (hafalan doa dan surat, sholat), singings, skills (menempel, mewarnai), and sports (dancing, gyms, etc). The daycare mentioned about filed trip to zoo, seaworld and other outdoor places as well, but I guess occasionally.

Aisha's Favourite Toys in Daycare

However, apart from its best part, this daycare also lacks in several aspects, such as:

• Since this daycare is a "Home Daycare" the rules are not that strict. For example, when it is said the session will be started at 8 am, it can happen at 8.30 am (well but as babies, who cares right?). Also, for a sleep time, they are not really force the kids to sleep (like closing the door, not allowed to play during sleep time, etc). Well this is probably still okay though, since as babies, their world are only play and play as they wish. But Aisha ever experience 1 hour sleep only in daycare as she always want to go back to the playground during sleeptime. When Aisha is taken care by the baby sitter at home, she sleep for a minimum 2 ours in a daytime
• The ratio of kids and the caretaker in the daycare are sometimes to much. there are 10-14 kids maximum (depend on whether the kids come or not) with only 3-4 caretaker. Actually I do not really mind about this ratio since the kids is mostly at the age of 2,5 years (the oldest is 4 years: 2 kids). However, I hope that the daycare be "strict" in accepting of refusing kids because of quota.
• The place should have been more cleaner. I dont know, I have quite high standar for this cleanlines, especially in other's place (ya kalau rumah sendiri kotor2 mah gapapaa, hehehe).
• Oh ya, the enrollment fee is very expensive, most expensive of other daycares I visited in Depok. But the monthly fee is okay.

Aisha's Experience

The night before Aisha's first day in daycare, I cried alot. I really really cried in anxiety and despair : what would happen to Aisha tomorrow? what if she was not listened? How could aisha ask for food and drink? what if aisha want to be hugged? how the daycare will fulfil her needs? I talked to my husband how worry I am, how I feel sorry for what has happened, and why I can not just be with Aisha all the time? *ngelantur

However, my dear Aisha is a nice and clever one. I have been sounding to her that she will no longer with the babysitter the day after, and will go to school. Aisha responded happily, and she repeated after me "Aita toyah" (Aisha sekolah). She was very happy when we bring her on the way to train station. She usually cries when we leave her for office. She said : "Aita itut..tut.." (Aisha ikut). And she sang happily on the way to the daycare. In short,however,  she cried right after we give her to the caregiver in the daycare. I cried too. But we have to leave. She stopped crying after we leave.

The teacher reported that Aisha asked her friends to sing her "cicak di dinding song". Then Aisha danced while her friends was singing. However, when the song stopped, Aisha start to cry  hahaha. On the second day, Aisha's command to her friends was not only to sing. This time, she asked her friends to sit down on small chairs. Most of her friends are not responded, then Aisha cried. Her teacher reported me that Aisha already has a sense of leadership hahahaha. At first I was afraid that Aisha will feel intimidated among other new friends in daycare. But I am wrong: she is very confidence and even try to take a lead, haha. Ah you are sooo your father (and your mother too hehehe).

On a second day, Aisha has been famous for having "lagu kebangsaan Aisha": cicak di dinding, naik kereta api, dan burung hantu. She is very happy (claping and laughing) when her friends sing those songs. Finally the teacher starts the classes by singing those songs to cheer Aisha. On the way home, Aisha also sings by herself various songs, mostly those 3 songs (well of course in her own language, but very clear on the word "cicak cicak di dinding", and naik kereta api "tuut..tuuut..tuuut"). I can see cheerfullnes in Aisha's behaviour after finishing the daycare. Even on the second day, Aisha refused to go home, hahaha. I came to pick her when she played ayunan with Nenek. I observed for a minute from distance that Aisha sang together with Nenek who helped her play ayunan (mengayun). Aisha smiles alot. When I approached, she laughs. She pointed me her favourites toys: "itu tuda (kuda)", "ni yun-yun (ayunan)", "ni yotan (plosotan)" with smiles. And when I said let's go home, she firmly said: "emoooooh...". However, in her third day today, she still cried when I leave her in the daycare. 

Any other good things that the teacher reported is that: Aisha eats alot in the daycare! hahaha what a surprise! Well Aisha is not a difficult eater, but this past few days, she has been eating a little. But the teacher reported that Aisha eat by her own alot! using spoon!! She finished most of the eating sessions, and even once finish her friend's, haha. I did not really believe at first, but when I touch her belly: oh big!  Alhamdulillah. Probably because she eats together with several friends in a small table and chair. Or maybe her competition insting makes her feel should eat more than the others, haha.

I pray to God that this Bening Daycare is the best for Aisha in boosting her potentials: her new skills and learnings, her socialization skills, her inteligence, her bravery, and her health as well. I am so thankful on how God "forced" me to new plan, to go out of my comfort zone and put Aisha in the daycare.

The unfortune event of loosing Aisha's babysitter, which actually hit me alot, has turned into another happiness I have never imagined before. This is how Allah remind me to always put trust in Him. There is one verse 51 of At Taubah  which I always bear in mind: 

"Say...nothing can happen to me except what Allah has ordered for me. He is our Master. It is in Allah that the believer should put their TRUST."

Happy Faces!