Tag Archives: getting ready for school

mommyhood

Kindergarten, Here She Comes

Leave a comment

Yesterday, I did something I’d been putting off. I finally registered EK for kindergarten. Originally, I put it off because we were still thinking about schools, but it quickly moved on to the fact that I was just a little down, thinking about how big she is, and how little time I’ll get with her once we start full-day school in the fall. I mean, she’s excited, she’s ready, and she’s not going to have a problem with that transition. It was my heart that wasn’t ready.

I’m not ready to let my baby be somewhere else for six hours a day. I’m not ready to let her loose into the world, when she might be very impressionable. I’m not ready to feel like I have to share the work of raising her with someone else. I’m not ready.

But she is ready.

She is ready to spread her wings a bit. She is ready to make new friends, learn new things, be pushed and stretched. She is ready have a new teacher, new rules, new environment, and new people surrounding her. She is ready to read, to add and subtract, to play new games and sing new songs.

I know there will be hard days. She will have kids at school who aren’t nice, or days she doesn’t feel like going to school at all. But that’s where I come in: the encourager, the snuggler, the preparation expert, the “you can do it!” chanter. Her home is a safe place, one that will prepare her for her day, and one that will envelop her in comfort upon her return. Her family loves her – even her brothers will help cheer her on.

So kindergarten, by the time you get here, we will be ready for you. I’m glad that day isn’t today, but in a couple of months, my heart will be prepared. Be good to my little girl, kindergarten. She’s excited for you.

home, mommyhood

Preschool Has Started With a Bang!

4 Comments

This morning, I dropped EK and J off at preschool. Much to my surprise, and chagrin, they were so excited that I didn’t even get a goodbye hug! They just walked right in, threw their stuff down, and got started. I expected that to happen with EK, but I expected some trepidation from J. Well, no way. He waltzed right in there, dropped his bag on the ground (I had to hang it for him) and started playing. The kid knew where he was and what he wanted to do. And even though I’m a little sad he didn’t even want to hug me or anything, I am thrilled we won’t have any sadness. It makes a mama SO happy to know her kids are having fun and not crying.

The only thing that was a little crazy was getting out the door on time. To get to school on time, we should leave around 8:45. I think we pulled out of the driveway at 8:56. While it’s okay to be late the first day, that just isn’t going to fly every single time we go. Especially because I work at church on Thursday mornings, and I need to be getting things ready for the women’s service every Thursday around 8:30. Do the math on that one, folks. That’s leaving the house at 8:15. Can we handle it? Time will tell. 

 Our morning routine went a little like this…

7:15 – I hear J waking up a little on the monitor.
7:20 – My alarm goes off. (Snoozed. Big time.)
7:30 – I get up, because my other alarm (the baby) had gone off.
7:45 – My mom comes up the stairs (she’s leaving this am) and Hubby gets out of the shower, and D is done nursing. Pass the baby to Hubby, my mom starts making breakfast, I go down to get the kids. (An unrealistic view of what will happen most of the time… because Mom won’t be here.)
8:00 – Kids and I are in the shower (we skipped baths last night)
8:30 – Kids and I are clean, dressed, and having breakfast.
8:40 – I start my rush to grab things I didn’t prepare last night (not many, thankfully).
8:50 – Packing the kids in the car. J poops (duh), so he gets back out for a change.
8:56 – Pull out of the driveway.

Not too bad, Hsus. Not too bad. We were only a couple of minutes late; 15 minutes travel time allows for some traffic, which we blessedly didn’t have this morning. Usually, we don’t do showers in the morning, so that’ll take some time out. Also, I’m thinking about packing breakfasts or picking up smoothies on the way on Thursdays, since the kids will have 30 minutes of hanging out while I work before their school starts. That’s plenty of time to have a breakfast smoothie, right? Maybe we can handle it. 

This guy had the most peaceful morning nap he’s ever had.
 Any tips on making school mornings go more smoothly? That don’t happen to include getting up earlier? I’ve got a family of fairly late sleepers (for toddlers, anyway), and I don’t want to have to break that habit just yet.