Reading, Writing, ‘Rithmetic…
17 Jan
It happened.
I got an email yesterday about Kindergarten registration. My heart just about stopped.
In the back of my mind, I knew she was going to go to Kindergarten at some point. And truthfully, it’s not really Kindergarten that bothers me so much. It’s everything that starting Kindergarten implies.
She’s starting school; we can never go back from here. I will never get to have her at home with me all day. I won’t get to take her places in the middle of the week just for fun. No more snuggle sessions at rest time. She won’t be home during the day to entertain little sis when Mommy needs a shower.
And what comes after Kindergarten is terrifying. Elementary school, middle school, high school…then she will leave me. And I KNOW it is several years in the making, it’s really not going to happen overnight. But it SCARES me! Once she starts school, it’s going to be a whirlwind of meet-the-teachers, school events, meeting new friends, growing, changing, gaining independence. Once it all starts, it’s going to start flying by. I won’t get these quieter, care-free days back. And it definitely pulls on my heart strings.
I am excited for her, too. I know she will love school, love her teachers, her new friends. I hope that she learns new things everyday that she is excited to share with us. I hope she gains confidence and independence and pride. I hope that everything she’s been doing with me at home turns out to be helpful in some way.
There is still some debate in our house whether or not Ella will actually go to Kindergarten next year or not. Her birthday is very close to the cut-off; she squeaks in just before. But it makes her one of the youngest kids in the class. She will turn 5(!) only a couple of weeks before school starts, whereas some other kids will have turned 6 just a few days after her. Is she really ready for that? Is she too young? Will she be successful? Will she get overwhelmed? There are so many questions, so many concerns, so many possible outcomes. And I’m not certain that there is one correct answer. But Dave & I are trying to work out what will be the best for her, whether that is to start Kindergarten this fall or to wait and start her next fall. There are pros and cons to both in my opinion. There are several factors to consider and hopefully whatever we eventually decide will work out the best for our sweet Ella Kate.
A tiny little greedy part of me wants to keep her at home for another year just because she’s mine and I don’t want to let anyone else have her yet. I know that can’t be the deciding factor, but a mother’s love has to count for something, right?





































