» kindergarten Being Sara

Where to begin?

January 4, 2012

I can’t even remember the last time I posted something here. There are plenty of reasons – the same as many stale blogs, lack of inspiration, time and eventually guilt from being silent for so long. I’d like to get back into the swing of regular posts and the start of a new year seems like as good a time as any to make that attempt.

So, to recap, it was a busy year. Xander started kindergarten. Parker moved into the purple room at day care. We attempted potty training for about three months (the dryer was broken for two of those months. The word hellish comes to mind when I think back on it) but eventually decided to take a break when we reached a stalemate – he was fine with peeing in his pants as long as we changed him after. I was not fine with that arrangement. Parker turned three last week (the fact that my baby is now three could be an entirely separate post). Xander is learning to read which is super exciting for us. I’ve been at my current job for over a year now. I continue to love the day to day work and the interaction with college students but regularly the higher level politics provides new challenges and headaches that I long to ignore.

Parker has gotten into the habit of being my cheerleader. If I kill a bug for him or do well in a game we are playing he’ll tell me ‘good job mom!’ he also calls us mom and dad more than mommy and daddy lately. It sounds cute with his little voice but is slightly disconcerting.

We had a wonderful Christmas filled with friends and family and lots of time to play with the boys. On our last day of vacation we were lounging in our pajamas and watching Toy Story 3. In the beginning of the movie there are several flashbacks to the boy, Andy playing with his toys. Shortly into the montage, Xander pipes up and says ‘hey, he has all of the toy story toys’ after Zach and I stopped giggling we reminded him that we were actually watching toy story the movie… Kids…

So, we’re good. Looking forward to all that 2012 has in store, and hopefully finding time to blog again.

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He Never Looked Back

August 30, 2011

He never looked back

Today was Xander’s first day of kindergarten. We were prepared. We’d been to the open house, we’d toured and visited the school and had endless conversations with Xander about what to expect. We had plans for before and after school. Supplies were purchased, clothes were ironed, backpacks were packed, forms were completed. Last night near midnight though, I couldn’t stop the tears. My baby was going to get on a bus, go to a school where I do not know every child and every adult. He was going to spend his day with these people who barely knew him, and couldn’t possibly be prepared for his shyness. And I was sure his shyness would prevent him from making friends, or from letting his teacher see how smart he truly is.

But, as I should have learned by now, my kids continue to surprise me. Adding to my regular dose of motherhood guilt, I could not drop off or pick up Xander on his first day. Hurricane/Tropical Storm Irene threw off all of our plans, so PSU student move-in day landed on the same day as kindergarten started.

So, we jumped right into the regular routine. Zach took the boys to the bus stop, and waited with Xander. Parker was seriously unimpressed that Xander not only got to ride the school bus and he did not, but also that Xander was not walking into ‘school’ with him anymore. After bouncing around with his backpack, lunch box and friend, the bus arrived and they both walked right on – never looking back.

It was worse than pulling teeth, but after much begging, I finally got some details out of the close-lipped kid tonight. Riding the bus is his favorite part. Pretty much everything else pales in comparison to that. But, if he had to pick something he enjoyed most at school, that would be recess. And, if he had to pick something in his classroom that he liked the most, that would be the science station. He really wanted to play with the dinosaurs, but at free play only two kids are allowed at each station, and there were already two kids at the dinosaur station.

There were no tears and no complaints. He met all of his friends (his whole class) though he doesn’t yet remember anyone’s name. He has three other students who sit at his table (where his assigned seat is) but one girl is in the half day program, so she leaves early. One boy at his table got in trouble today for yelling at another kid (but not him) and had to sit at his table for two minutes. Rest time is nice, and Xander thinks I should ask my boss for a rest time at work. I’m sure that will go over well.

So, Xander is clearly more ready for kindergarten than I am. He went through the first day like it was nothing. I’m not sure I’m ready for day two, but he can’t wait to go back (and ride the bus again of course). Obviously not every day can be wonderful, but I am so incredibly relieve that the first day was.

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This Kid

July 21, 2011

It’s been a while since I’ve blogged about this kid. He is still head-over-heals in love with dinosaurs. We talk about and learn about dinosaurs every day. He teaches me new things every time the subject comes up (which is quite often). He knows and understands the differences between Therapods, Sauropods, Prosauropods, Ceratopsians, Stegasaurs and more. If you’ve got a question about dinosaurs let me know – I’m sure he’ll have an answer for you.

He loves to be in the water, and refuses to get out even after his teeth are chattering and his lips match his blue swim suit. He is so close to having the confidence to swim unassisted – if only we had more time to spend in the water…

He is very excited about Kindergarten, but I’m not sure his mind has fully wrapped around the huge changes in his life happening in 4 short weeks…

He is still my shy guy, and takes a long time to warm up to strangers and still refuses to speak when people he doesn’t know are watching him.

He is however a very sweet brother and friend.

He is still planning to marry Katie and have four children with her, though the names keep changing. He’ll give you answers to any questions about his future plans – the kid has their entire life planned out already.

Even though he’ll be 5 faster than I am ready for, he still likes to cuddle and will once-in-a-blue-moon wind up snuggled next to me in bed in the middle of the night. When I ask him the next morning why he got in my bed, the answer is sometimes ‘I just needed some more cuddles Mama’ I am happy to accommodate that request any time.

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My Graduate…

June 14, 2011

You did it Even though it took begging, pleading, lots of snuggles, endless practices and discussions about the big day, you did it (well, some of it). You participated in your preschool graduation to the very best of your ability (which consisted of signing the pledge of allegiance in tears, playing a drum nearly in tears and taking your diploma before retreating back to my lap). Despite your fear that the people you don’t know in the crowd won’t like you, you did the very best that you could and I’m proud of you for that.

Your preschool must be one of the most fabulous preschools on earth. The amount of effort and preparation the entire staff and students put into the event truly shows how much they care and love your class. From the large framed picture of what you want to be when you grow up (a paleontologist of course) to the gift bag, to the book with personal messages from each of your teachers to the CD with pictures of your class throughout the 4 years you’ve been there – all amazingly wonderful.

You are also amazingly wonderful – and I’m not the only one who thinks that. The evidence is in the book, where every message from your teacher refers to you as a sweet, kind, smart child who is happy to play with everyone.

Your current love/obsession is dinosaurs. I’ve learned more about dinosaurs from you and trying to keep up with you than I ever thought I would want or need to know.

You are currently this wonderful mix of an adorably sweet little boy who thinks about dinosaurs about 90% of his day and a kid who is still little in a few ways. You still like help getting dressed even though we all know that you can do it on your own and have been able to for years now. Every few months you still wake up in the night and crawl into bed beside me, and I don’t make you leave because I cherish those cuddles – I know they will become more and more scarce in the coming years (although you can’t seem to believe that yet).

You know all of your letters and numbers and enjoy doing addition and subtraction on your hands. You like to write, but some of your letters still give you a little trouble, and adding the extra tails to your small a’s and to the tops of your small n’s is still super cute, though I expect/hope that kindergarten will help you get those figured out.

I am so excited to see your next milestones – to see you play organized sports, to make new friends, to start at a new school in the fall and I have to keep reminding myself that despite your smarts and excitement, you are still the youngest child in your class and some of the things might be more of a challenge for you. Don’t worry though, your father and I will be there to help, support and cheer you on the whole way. It is bittersweet to see my squishy little baby shed his baby-ness and grow up.

Congratulations little man – we love you so very much!

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Another Beginning…

May 5, 2011

067 Xander had his ‘Kindergarten Connection’ (screening) meeting yesterday. After touring schools and weighing our options, we finally picked what we hope will be the best one for both boys. The connection meeting went pretty well – they certainly have it organized and down to a science.

We walked into the cafeteria and went to the registration table. Xander got a name tag and we got a giant terracotta pot. There were 4 ‘stations’ set up, and we were directed to the 1st station where Xander played with one of the kindergarten teachers (they are big on magnetic letters) on a baking tray (cool trick since it’s magnetic) while we chatted with the principal. They got to test Xander’s letter recognition and organization and we got some handouts (which we could carry around in our handy pot). Xander got to pick out a seed packet (to plant in the terracotta pot) and we moved onto the next station. At each station they evaluated things like gross and fine motor skills, following directions, etc. and we met with people like the school nurse, the OT specialist, reading specialist and teachers. As Xander finished whatever task was in front of him, he was given some sort of reward (a beach ball from the health table, gardening gloves from the OT table, a drawing/counting game from the academics table, etc.)

When we left and I asked Xander how he liked it, he said ‘it was ok… but they didn’t have any dinosaurs for me to play with’ On the other hand, this morning he asked me where he was going to school today, and when I told him, his current school he made a face at me. I asked him what the problem was – he loves his school and he informed me yes, but he wanted to go to kindergarten! So, I guess any qualms I had over him being ready (the OT lady’s first comment when she met us was ‘wow, a little guy – he just barely meets the cut off!’) are moderately relieved since he’s pretty confident that he’s ready

Being Sara

Posts Tagged ‘kindergarten’

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