Lost In Space

I was a slighlty above average kid at school. Not too bad but not that great with my grades. I knew I wanted a good education so I didn't really dread going to school, except perhaps when it came to attending Advanced Maths and Physics classes in my secondary school years.

Still, I wish school had been more fun. And it's a known fact that the schools in Australia and the schools in Malaysia are as similar as day and night.

There are just so many fun learning activities at the schools here in Melbourne. Here's one great example. Today was the "Space Dress Up & Party Day" for Prep students at Joshua's primary school. So the parents were told 2 weeks in advance about this special day. We were encouraged to dress our kids up in anything related to space such as the moon, stars, sun, spaceship, astronaut, even space aliens!

Sounded fun. Unfortunately, I am completely hopeless with needlework and art and craft. So decorating Joshua's costume elaborately was out of the question. Buying a costume wasn't an option either. Too expensive. So I took the lazy and easy way out - I bought a sheet of thick yellow paper and cut out a big circle and sewed it on his shirt! You've guessed it - it's a moon. Simple. Joshua was okay with it.

Imagine my complete surprise when I dropped him of at school today. The other kids looked as though they had landed on the school ground from outer space. You could see spacemen, various species of Martian, gigantic stars, small stars, even a couple of Darth Vaders - you get the picture. The teachers too were "dressed to kill" for the day. The sight was something I never thought I'd see in a school!

It was like a circus. Everyone was having a blast! The kids started making comparisons. The parents couldn't stop snapping pictures. I hadn't expected this. So no camera to capture the moment! Dang!

While there isn't all that much emphasis on academic performance or examinations, the people here sure take it seriously when it comes to having fun. The good thing is, it's not just fun. It's learning through fun. The kids are sure to be able to learn more about the solar system and its planets with such an unusual approach (to me, anyway since Malaysian schools have never done anything like this!).

As I write this, I hope Joshua didn't feel left out for not having a fantastic costume (He's still at school right now). He probably envies the other kids. His sister Joanne, who was at the school with me earlier and witnessed the entire carnival, already told me what she wanted next year when she goes to Prep!

Yep, school is fun here. There's no doubt about it. Next time, if there's a special day with a special theme, I'll just have to make sure I put more effort to make it fun, yet educational for my kids.