Ian has been in kindergarten for a little over 2 weeks now. I thought for sure on his first day I would be an emotional basketcase. Surprisingly, I wasn’t. Sure, I was emotional but the feeling was one of overwhelming happiness more than anything else. The reason for that was Ian. He was and is still just so EXCITED about kindergarten. It’s pretty hard to feel sad when you have a kid that is beaming with pride that he is off to BIG KID SCHOOL!!! And yes, all caps is necessary.
I do have the feelings of worry. Will he make friends easily? Will the other kids be nice to him? Do I have to worry about bullying? Will he get the solid start he needs to build a foundation for the rest of his education? I truly believe a love of learning has to be fostered early. Very early.
Sending your kids off to school is a lot like sending them into the wild. You can’t plan for all the variables. There are so many things that I have to let go of and trust that I have taught Ian well so far in life. I used to walk him into his preschool classroom every day and get feedback from his teacher every. single. day. Now I drop him in a carpool line. That’s it. Any communication from and to the teacher is in the form of notes or emails (which I haven’t felt the need for yet). I think the teachers probably have to break in the parents just as much as the kids. It really is a struggle to step back and let them do their job, but I am. I have faith in Ian’s teacher and so many people have told me that she is an amazing teacher.
I hope Ian keeps his love of learning because I love it too.
Slow and Steady Wins the Race 