On Shree Panchami our youngest wrote their first अ, LKG wrote their names on slates, and UKG read aloud to a very proud audience.
Saraswati Puja is the day, in many Nepali homes, that a child writes their first letter. We marked it the same way at school: a small puja in the morning, yellow clothes, and every Playgroup and Nursery child tracing अ in a tray of rice with a parent or grandparent beside them. For the older children it was a chance to show what they can do. LKG wrote their names in chalk on slates; UKG read short sentences aloud, in English and in Nepali. In a Montessori classroom writing starts long before the pencil — with sandpaper letters traced by two fingers while saying the sound. It was lovely to see where it leads.
