There are certain moments in motherhood when you suddenly realise that your child has entered a completely new chapter. For me, this is one of them. My son is seven years old, and this September he will start first grade in Hungary. Just writing that sentence feels a little strange. It doesn’t seem that long ago that he was a tiny boy starting óvoda, and now we are buying school supplies, labelling pencils, organising folders and preparing everything he will need for his first year of primary school.
He, on the other hand, seems completely unconcerned. While I have been carefully marking his belongings, signing everything that needs signing and making sure we have somehow acquired what feels like an entire art shop, he seems to take the whole thing in his stride. And perhaps that is exactly how it should be.
This is our first experience with Hungarian primary school, and it is also a particularly interesting transition for our family because my son was born in Malta and spent the first years of his life there. English is his native language, while Hungarian has gradually become part of his life since we moved to Hungary. This year, he will start at a Hungarian state school that participates in the Bilingual Program.
Why We Chose a Bilingual School in Hungary
Choosing the right school was important to us because of our family’s unusual language situation. My son’s native language is English. He was born in Malta, and English was the language he was naturally surrounded by during his early childhood. At home, he has also been exposed to Macedonian and Hungarian, but English has always been the language in which he is strongest.
When we moved to Hungary, Hungarian became much more present in his everyday life. At first, he mostly spoke English. Gradually, however, he began understanding more and more Hungarian. Now he understands Hungarian well and is increasingly willing to try speaking it whenever he can. Seeing that development has been one of the most interesting parts of our transition to Hungary as a family.
We wanted to make sure that moving countries didn’t mean losing the language that was already such an important part of his identity. At the same time, we wanted him to develop strong Hungarian and feel comfortable living and studying in the country where we now live. That is why the Bilingual Program appealed to us.
We liked the combination of the Hungarian curriculum with intensive English-language education. It felt like a good fit for a child whose English is already very strong but who is also developing Hungarian. For us, it wasn’t about choosing between English and Hungarian. It was about giving him the opportunity to have both.
What Is the Bilingual Program?
One thing I discovered during our search for a school is that the term “bilingual school” can mean many different things. In our case, my son is attending a Hungarian state school where the Bilingual Program operates. It is not the same thing as sending a child to a private international school.
The programme works within the Hungarian education system while providing intensive bilingual education. Children follow the Hungarian curriculum, while English is integrated much more deeply into their school experience than it would be in a traditional Hungarian school where English is simply taught as a foreign language.
The programme uses bilingual teaching and a CLIL-based approach, with Hungarian- and English-speaking teachers working with the children. For our family, this combination was particularly attractive. My son’s English doesn’t need to be introduced to him as a completely new language because it is already part of who he is. What we want is for him to maintain and develop it while also becoming increasingly confident in Hungarian.
From Malta to Hungarian Primary School
One of the things that makes this milestone particularly meaningful to me is remembering where we started. My son was born in Malta. For years, Malta was simply home. English was his natural language, and we never had to think too much about the question of what language he would eventually use at school.
Then our family moved to Hungary.
Moving countries changes many things at once, and language is one of the most obvious changes when you have children. For my son, Hungarian was initially something he heard around him. Then it slowly became something he understood. Eventually, it is becoming something he could use himself.
He still has a long way to go, of course, but seeing him try to speak Hungarian when he can is something I am particularly proud of. Now he is about to enter a Hungarian primary school where both languages will be part of his everyday school life, and that feels like a very natural next step.
Preparing My Son for First Grade
The practical side of preparing for first grade has been surprisingly extensive. We received a very detailed school-supplies list, and I quickly realised that “buying a few things for school” was not going to be quite as simple as I had imagined.
There are specific notebooks, pencils, folders, art supplies, mathematics materials, PE equipment, indoor shoes and even a separate outfit for school celebrations. Some of the requirements are very specific to the Hungarian school system. For example, some notebooks have particular line patterns and codes, and the school specifies exactly what type of equipment the children should have.
There are also materials for mathematics that are designed for hands-on learning, including counting sticks, red-and-blue counters, number cards, dice, a clock face and measuring materials. And then there is the art box. It includes everything from different types of brushes and drawing paper to watercolours, tempera, pastels, crayons, origami paper, coloured card, glue and modelling clay. At one point, I wondered whether we were preparing a first grader or opening a small art studio.
But there is something quite lovely about preparing all of these things. There is something about writing his name on all those little things that makes the whole transition feel real. This is no longer something happening somewhere in the future. He is actually starting school.
The School Supplies: Everything Has a Place
One thing that really stood out to me was how organised everything needs to be. The school has asked us to label everything essentially so that the children can recognise their own belongings. Even the pencils need to have his initials written on them.
There are separate folders for different subjects, a dedicated box for mathematics materials and a separate container for art supplies. We also need to prepare his indoor shoes, PE clothes, a towel, a drinking cup, a comb and a change of clothes. Then there is the school celebration outfit: a white shirt, black trousers, dark socks and the school’s required tie.
It is a lot, especially when you see the complete list for the first time. But I have actually enjoyed this part more than I expected. There is something about preparing all these small things and putting his name on them that makes me feel like I am helping him get ready for this new stage of his life.
From Óvoda to First Grade
Having children in the Hungarian education system has also given me the opportunity to see the difference between óvoda and school. My daughter is still attending óvoda, so we are currently experiencing both stages at the same time.
Óvoda has a much more playful rhythm. There is structure, of course, but the experience is still very much centred around play, exploration and the needs of young children. School brings a new level of responsibility. There are lessons, school supplies, different expectations, homework and a greater degree of independence.
For a seven-year-old, these might seem like small changes. For a mother, they feel enormous.
I think one of the strangest parts of becoming a parent is how quickly your child moves from needing you to do everything to being expected to start doing things for himself. First grade feels like one of those milestones where you suddenly see that transition happening in front of you.
He Isn’t Worried. I Am the One Who Is Excited.
The funny thing is that my son doesn’t seem particularly concerned about any of this. He isn’t sitting around worrying about whether he will manage, and he isn’t asking me a hundred questions about his first day. He is simply getting on with being seven.
I am the one who is excited. I am the one looking at the school supplies and imagining him sitting at his desk. I am the one thinking about his first teacher, his new classmates and all the things he will learn. And I am the one who keeps having that strange thought: my little boy is starting school.
There is something emotional about watching your first child reach a milestone like this. You know that school is simply the next step. You know he is ready. You know that becoming more independent is a good thing. But part of you still wants to slow everything down.
Perhaps that is why I have enjoyed preparing everything so much. Every pencil I label and every notebook I put his name on feels like a tiny act of preparation for letting him take this next step.
Learning Hungarian Along the Way
Language is probably the part of this transition that interests me most. When we first moved to Hungary, Hungarian was not my son’s strongest language. English was his comfort zone. Over time, however, Hungarian became part of his everyday world.
He started by understanding it. Then came the attempts to speak. Now he will sometimes try to express himself in Hungarian when the opportunity is there. It hasn’t happened overnight, and it certainly hasn’t been a straight line, but watching a child gradually acquire another language through everyday life is fascinating.
This is also why the bilingual programme feels like such a good fit for him. He doesn’t have to leave his English behind in order to become more Hungarian-speaking. He can continue developing both.
For a child who has grown up between languages and countries, I think that is incredibly valuable.
A New Morning Routine
Starting first grade will also change our family’s daily rhythm. Until now, our mornings have revolved around getting the children ready for óvoda and starting the day. Now we will have a school-age child with a school bag, a timetable, school supplies and a new level of responsibility.
And our family is about to change in another enormous way. I am expecting our third baby at the end of September. So somewhere between buying school supplies, organising folders and preparing my son for first grade, I am also nesting at home and getting everything ready for a newborn.
It is a strange combination of beginnings. One child is becoming more independent. Another is growing and changing in her own way, including making such a wonderful breakthrough with her Hungarian. And another little person is about to arrive and need me for absolutely everything.
Motherhood has a funny way of placing completely opposite experiences next to each other.
Watching My First Child Become a Schoolboy
I think this is the part I wasn’t completely prepared for. There is a difference between knowing your child is growing up and actually seeing the milestones arrive. First grade feels like a significant one.
There will be new teachers, new friends, new responsibilities and new things he will learn without me being there to guide every step. He will spend hours of his day in a world that is increasingly his own, and I know that is exactly what is supposed to happen.
But it is still emotional.
Perhaps that is why I have enjoyed preparing everything so much. Every pencil I label and every notebook I put his name on feels like a tiny act of preparation for letting him take this next step.
Starting First Grade in Hungary as an Expat Family
For families who have moved to Hungary from another country, starting school can feel like another major part of becoming settled here. It isn’t only about choosing a school. There is the education system itself, the language, administration, school supplies, routines and all the little cultural differences that you only discover once you actually have a child going through the system.
Our experience so far has been relatively straightforward. Applying to the Bilingual Program was quite easy for us. We submitted the application and went through the process without the difficulties I had initially worried about.
Of course, we haven’t started the actual school year yet, so I am sure there will be plenty more things for us to learn. For now, I am simply preparing as best I can and trying to enjoy this stage instead of rushing ahead to the next one.
What I Hope This Year Will Bring
More than anything, I hope he enjoys school. I hope he finds good friends, becomes more confident, stays curious and continues developing both English and Hungarian without feeling that he has to choose between them.
I hope he discovers that learning can be something exciting rather than something he simply has to do. I don’t expect everything to be perfect. There will probably be difficult mornings, forgotten pencils, homework we don’t understand, tired afternoons and days when school feels like too much.
That’s part of growing up.
For now, though, we are still in the preparation stage. The school supplies are being organised. The pencils are being labelled. The folders are ready. And my little boy is about to become a first grader.
Starting first grade in Hungary is another step in our journey of building a life here. On Szia Soul I share our family’s experiences of living in Hungary, navigating life abroad, raising multilingual children and finding our way in a new country.