I still remember walking my daughter into her Grade 1 classroom for the very first time. She didn’t speak a word of English. School had just started in September, and I already knew the days would get shorter and rainier soon. I was terrified. I’m originally from South Korea, and back home, the school system,…
The first fall my kids were in a Canadian school, an email showed up in my inbox: “Please book your Parent-Teacher Conference time.” I assumed I’d have to call the office and ask for a slot, the way I would have back home. Instead, the email had one link — a shared Google Sheet. I…
The first time I heard the words “show and tell,” I was standing at pickup, half-listening to my daughter’s friend announce that she was “bringing a toy next week.” I remember thinking: bringing a toy where, exactly? Is that allowed? Nothing in the school’s supply list had mentioned toys. Nothing in my head had a…
When I first tried to figure out when to register my kids for elementary school in Canada, I felt lost. Was there a deadline? Did I need to apply online, or show up in person? I ended up visiting a school district office with a stack of visa papers in my hand, only to be…
The morning my son started Grade 1 in Canada, he didn’t know how to say “hello,” “bathroom,” or “I’m hungry” in English. Not one word. I dropped him off at the school gate, smiled way too hard, and then sat in my car for a solid ten minutes wondering if I’d just ruined his whole…
