end of an era

Ilse is vandaag voor de laatste keer naar haar oude KDV geweest. Een hele grote stap want opeens gaat ze van haar vertrouwde plekje, waar ze sinds ze 3.5 maand oud was naar toe ging, naar een compleet nieuwe 'school'. (zij noemt het school, het is nog steeds een kdv, want ze is pas net (sinds gisteren) 2).

Zoals altijd kan ik niet al te goed met afscheid omgaan, en doe ik dit het beste door het in een brief te verwoorden. Deze brief heb ik vanochtend naar Ilses KDV geschreven:

"To all staff at First Friends Nursery,

It’s Ilse’s last day at nursery today, and we couldn’t let this moment go by without a special thank you to all of the staff at First Friends Nursery and a quick recap of the past 2 years.

It is not easy for parents to decide to continue working when your first child is born, and then go through the process of selecting a nursery that we would entrust with the care of Ilse. We went to see a few nurseries over the months before Imke had to return to work, and we came to the conclusion that finding a nursery for Ilse was more difficult than it seemed…until Imke visited First Friends Nursery.

Initially surprised by the fact the nursery was set in portacabins, Imke was soon won over by the friendly welcome she received from Julie and the team. Everything Julie and Imke discussed that day seemed right, even down to the discovery that we had only recently moved into the house that Julie used to live in as a child. We soon filled out the paperwork and at the grant age of 3.5 months old Ilse set off for nursery for the very first time.

Ilse fitted in without a problem. She was allocated Debbie as her key worker, who looked after Ilse as if she was her own. We had mixed feelings when we heard that Debbie was pregnant. Such great news, but it did mean that Ilse would loose her key worker, to which Ilse and mum and dad had grown so attached. Fortunately Ilse soon got used to Amanda, and when she left, April was there to take over the job. We were apprehensive both times Ilse changed key workers, but it always turned out fine. In fact it turned out that well that Ilse has now dubbed April ‘Nursery Mum’. She absolutely loves April, as she does the rest of the team.

One negative about having your child at nursery is that you miss many milestones. However, at First Friends you dealt with this perfectly. Ilse’s fist bit of solid food was given to her at nursery, but only after discussion with mum and dad.
The main milestone in a baby’s life is probably the moment they start walking. Did you really think that on that December day we didn’t know that you had already seen her walk when you said to John ‘we got this feeling she may walk tonight’? And low and behold: John saw Ilse walk that night.
Imke didn’t see it until the next morning, when Ilse just walked straight into the nursery- 10 steps until she fell. Everyone clapped and cheered and Imke must have been the proudest mum ever that morning.
The fact that you didn’t tell us that Ilse had already walked for you, and the fact that the staff were so excited for Ilse when she walked into the room the next day with her mum standing behind her in amazement, once again showed the right decision we made to chose First Friends as our nursery. We never felt we missed a milestone, as you allowed us to have our own version of it.

The nursery staff have always made Ilse and her mum and dad feel welcome. Imke can’t count the amount of times that she came to pick up Ilse at around 5.45 and then didn’t leave until after 6.00 because we spent so much time chatting. Imke will miss her chats with the staff; we can’t imagine this will be the same in Ilse’s new nursery, or ‘new school’ as Ilse calls it. Not only did these chats allow us to discuss Ilse’s ways and behaviours, it also made us feel like we really got to know each of you.

We have really appreciated all of the work you have done for Ilse and us. Thanks for your friendliness throughout, your bits of advice when we weren’t sure what to do, and the support you gave when it was needed (Julie- can we still rely on your babysitting offers? J).
Thanks also for giving Ilse so many new skills that she can build upon as she grows older. The friendships she has developed at nursery may soon be forgotten, but her understanding of what friendships mean and her knowledge of how to act around other children, is something she has learned at First Friends and will support her throughout her life.

We will all miss you and remember you. We will definitely recommend First Friends nursery to anyone who is looking for a caring, educative and friendly nursery for their child.

Lots of love from John, Imke and Ilse"


Zondag geven we de brief met een kaart, gemaakt door Ilse, en een grote doos chocolade aan het KDV. want dan zien we het hele team en 14 vriendje en vrindinnetjes op Ilse's verjaardag en afscheid partijtje.

Vandaag hebben ze Ilse een kaartgegeven. Een hele creatieve kaart met fotos van al haar vriendjes en vriendinnetjes- zelfs die nu al in de oudere klas zitten. Echt super lief. Ze hebben ook en boek gegeven over een lammetje dat haar groep (heet dat kudde voor schapen, of is dat alleen bij koeien) verlaat. Schattig toch!

Ik denk dat het de aankomende weken goed wennen word voor onze meid- en voor ons! Ook wij zijn gehecht geraakt aan de mensen op First Friends. Ik denk zelfs dat ik dit afscheid toien keer erger vind dan het afscheid op mijn werk aankomende maand.

groetjes Imke