This week we flew our three year old out to New York to meet the schools we had short-listed on our previous visit. The interviews seemed to go well, since both offered her a spot.
With the help of a schools broker through relocation specialists, NYC Navigator, C and I had flown out earlier to view four schools that still had places available for this September, and narrowed it down to two. They were all incredibly warm and inviting, but explained that they would need to meet the child before they could offer a place. Presumably to check for horns.
T loved spending three days and nights alone with both her parents, while her little sister stayed behind. Found her a hilarious set of black Hello Kitty children’s headphones for the flight. They were so big, C had to wad up some paper hand towels to perch them on her head. She never blinks when watching TV, so that giant tears well up and it’s astonishing she can see anything at all.
Frozen and Monsters University got us through the flight. So much easier when they’re old enough to sit through a whole film! On our last family trip, B, our youngest, was determined to make it through the curtain into first class. Not a relaxing experience.
The school interviews were pretty straightforward, really. T was let loose in a class full of other three year olds and observed. She headed straight for the giant wicker hamper full of babies and proceeded to announce she was the doctor-pilot-ballerina and to say “ah”.
One little girl solemnly asked her “Why do you talk funny?”
T looked blank, so I said, “We sound different as we come from England.”
“No we don’t, Mummy, we come from Greenwich!”
Where will she say she’s from after a few years in New York?
Some good news – our favourite school said they didn’t require chicken pox vaccines for overseas kids, so that’s one thing crossed off the list. Excellent. [UPDATE: Turns out I got the wrong end of the stick here. They were merely saying they knew we couldn’t sort it out in advance of the move (the chickenpox vaccine not available in the UK), and that we could wait until we had registered with a paediatrician in New York to get it done.]
To let off steam afterward T’s interviews, we took her to the children’s zoo in Central Park and admired the penguins. Also had a fantastic time exploring the amazing Battery Park. T loved the odd brass sculptures of gnomes, frogs, cats and even a giant face half submerged in concrete. Looking forward to coming back here again. [UPDATE: We actually ended up choosing to live in this neighbourhood. Click here to find out why.]
When asked what her favourite part of the day was, T said, “I had a Spider-man lolly and my face turned blue and red!” It did indeed. Took two days to get the last of that food dye off.
My favourite part? T pretending to be the Statue of Liberty in Battery Park, one arm raised, the other clutching her new My Little Pony. It’s actually when we took the photo that’s become the main visual of this blog.
My little girl, growing up fast.
If you’re considering a move between New York and the UK, check out this removals company.
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