My First Kindergartener

We did it! We raised one to school age. This one went to kindergarten today.

People have been asking me if I'm ready. Yes. They've been asking if she's ready. Yes.

But we are both a little nervous - partly for the same reasons: new school, new people, new routine. The part I wasn't prepared for was this sense that I'm suddenly sending her out into the big, big world all by herself. It's not a big school, but compared to the preschool, it's huge. How will they keep her safe? How will I keep her safe? Will she keep herself safe? 

Also, how will she handle a much more diverse group of kids? Will she play with them? Will she be a friend when someone needs one? Will she shun those who don't look like her? Will she treat everyone respectfully? What if they don't speak the same language?

These two topics are the ones that have taken up the most space in my mind in the last couple of weeks. How can I prepare her for these big changes? I've trusted her to God since the day she was conceived, so I'm letting him do the worrying, but that doesn't mean I don't have a job to do, too. 

We've had some serious conversations in the last week in my effort to catch up on some things that I feel like I should have been discussing with her all summer. We've talked about safety and tricky people and who is allowed to pick her up from school. We've talked about ways that grown ups try to trick kids into going with them, adults she can trust, and that still, small voice inside her that tells her when something is wrong or dangerous. I've told her to listen to that voice; ALWAYS listen to that voice.

We've talked about how God makes every person different and wonderful, and that just because someone looks different than her doesn't mean she shouldn't play with them. We want her to be friends with all kinds of people. We want her to treat everyone with respect, to befriend the ones who seem lonely or scared and to stand up for the ones who are mistreated. We do not want her to mistreat anyone. 

I've done a lot of talking. She's done a lot of listening. I hope I got it right. 

And then there was this conversation.

Ella: Mama, will I have homework in kindergarten?

Me: I don't know. You'll have to ask your teacher.

Ella: Don't you remember?

Me: I didn't have homework in kindergarten, but you might have to do some reading or something like that.

Ella: I can handle that.

Me: Do you think you might like to have some homework?

Ella: Yeah.

Yes, she's so ready; I'm so excited for her.

This one also went back to preschool today. 

He told me at Meet the Teacher night that he was ready for kindergarten; kindergarten is not ready for him.