My youngest is starting school for the first time. How can I best preserve his relentless curiosity? |
“Schools are finally re-opening, mate,” my volleyball friend Sardar announced, grinning with unmistakable relief. It clearly had nothing to do with how we played that evening – we lost badly. This joy was about classrooms, routines, teachers and the quiet order that schools bring back into families’ lives.
For us, it also meant something else entirely: my youngest, Naveed, is starting school for the first time.
Over the past few days, we’ve been wandering through shopping centres and uniform shops, trying to dress and equip him for what feels, in his mind at least, like a major mission. Judging by his choices – bold backpacks, superhero-themed drink bottles – I suspect he believes some special powers might be required. Watching him prepare has been tender and amusing in equal measure.
In the midst of all this, I’ve noticed something quietly beautiful. Whenever I take Naveed shopping with me – whether to big bookstores or op shops – he drifts instinctively towards children’s books. He already has a tiny collection at home, which he reads aloud to his favourite teddy, Mr Lion, whenever there’s nothing interesting on television and the older siblings are glued to their screens. There’s something grounding about seeing him like that: cross-legged,........