Sagas of surviving a toddler’s school admission procedures – Theme reveal for Blogchatter A2Z challenge 2019

Last year I entered into this crazy A2Z challenge hosted by Blogchatter without having any idea about the madness that was going to define my life April onwards. I also had no clue that my blogging journey was finally going to get a direction through this campaign. This year I voluntarily decided to go through the grind again to get myself back to regular blogging after a critical phase of health issues. If there’s anything that’s common between April 2018 & 2019, it is that last year my 2.5 yr old started his preschool on 3rd April and this year the boy who’s now 3.5 yrs is slated to begin his nursery classes in the third week of April.

Other than my sickness, the other thing that kept me occupied throughout the end of 2018 until now was my toddler’s school admissions. While selecting the theme for A2Z challenge this year, it was my husband’s idea to talk about the eye-opening experiences that defined our journey before making it to a coveted school in the city.

At the onset, let me clarify that the posts are going to be based on our experiences related to school admissions in Kolkata though the intent is never to demean any particular institution or the education system. Also, technically this is not an informative series but more of a relatable experience if one has been through the process anywhere in the country.

While I aim to keep my posts coated with humor, on some days they might make one think deeper. Probably by speaking about such thought-provoking issues, we might together come up with some ‘game-changing’ ideas. I hope you have a fun-filled ride full of laughter and joy as you read some rib-tickling and some eye-popping experiences associated with school admissions.

P. S. – Even if you aren’t a parent, you can still enjoy the humor quotient of these daily stories.

Here’s introducing the main characters of this school hunt saga – 

The boy – Junior T Banerjee (aka Spiderman/Superman/Batman and also Hanuman)

 

The boy as spiderman
The boy as spiderman

His tormented parents – 

Father – Senior T Banerjee -A hapless doctor posted in some strange town of Bengal. Mostly distracted, attained a level of acceptance towards the wife’s whimsical nature and son’s ability to cling on to him

Mother – A confused writer erstwhile Banker. Also holds two irrelevant postgraduate degrees and refuses to change the surname from Chatterjee to Banerjee. Shares a Tom and Jerry kind of relationship with the boy.

Location – Kolkata

Don’t forget to hop on as we begin this fun ride journey on April 1st and continue till April 30th through twenty six posts on everyday (except Sundays).

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Author: Sonia Chatterjee

An alumnus of Presidency College (Kolkata), Delhi University, and XIME (Bangalore), Sonia Chatterjee holds two post-graduate degrees in Chemistry and Management and an MFA in creative writing from Writer's Village University. With eight years of experience in the banking sector as a Branch Head, she took a sabbatical from the corporate world to start her blog soniasmusings.com. Her blog consistently featured in the Top Indian Blogs list from 2019 to 2024. Her articles have been published on various digital platforms such as Women's Web, Youth Ki Awaaz, Tuck's Magazine, and Period Magazine. She was invited as a speaker at the Breaking Barriers, Kolkata 2018 event by the Women's Web, at the Women Writer’s Fest, Kolkata, 2020, and the Crime Writers Festival, Kolkata,2025. Sonia has written two detective thrillers titled ‘Deal of Death – Introducing Raya Ray’ (2019) and ‘Diary, Deceit, and Death – A Raya Ray Adventure’ (Vishwakarma Publications, 2024) and a non-fiction book on true crime titled ‘The Sanyasi Who Became a King’ (Sristhi Publishers, 2025). Her book ‘Diary, Deceit, and Death’ was shortlisted for the PVLF Awards 2024-25 in the Best Fiction Category. Sonia lives in Kolkata with her doctor husband and nine-and-a-half-year-old son.

20 thoughts on “Sagas of surviving a toddler’s school admission procedures – Theme reveal for Blogchatter A2Z challenge 2019”

  11. My son also started his preschool last year and he turned 3 this Jan. We as parents have decided to not send him to a formal school as yet, due to many reasons, one being the lack of knowledge of how to select the right school. I really look forward to reading your posts, I am sure these will help me in making the right decisions during the admissions.

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  12. Oh yay. Sounds like fun. Your topic reminded me of the film Hindi Medium. I think as parents we’ve all gone through some weird bits to get our kids into the school of our choice. Looking forward to hearing about your experiences.

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  13. I am through with that stage of my kids lives. Though of course, I never had much of a trouble even then by God’s grace. I would love to hear your take on this subject. All the best Sonia!

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  14. This is something I would love to read because I have been a teacher for many years and have heard all sorts of stuff from parents when it comes to getting their child admitted to a school. Looking forward, Sonia!

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  19. It’s been a couple of decades or maybe more since I underwent school admissions, that too in Mumbai. Looking forward to know more about the present day scenario in Kolkata. And it seems like it will be fun, Sonia. Wish you luck with A-Z 2019

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