Kindergarten

Who knew there were so many requirements to fulfill before your kid could start kindergarten?? Yikes! Physical exam @ the doctor, including 4 nasty shots...Dental exam...Vision test...bus route paperwork...plus all the shopping for school supplies and clothes! Phew! After all that, the first day of school finally arrives, and here I am, waving goodbye to my sweet little boy. With a lunchbox in his bag and new shoes on his feet, he enters the huge school, holding a teacher's hand, ready to face his first full day without Mom. And I drive away, fighting back fears, ready to face my first full day without Reese. Sad day.

Reese is attending Churchill Elementary this year. I love his teacher. She seems strict, yet loving. He will be in a normal half day kindergarten class, with 25 children. That is an overwhelming number of kids for me, but I know he'll be fine There will be an aid in the classroom to prompt Reese when he needs special help. Then he will be pulled for lunch with the other special needs kids, and then attend an afternoon diagnostic class. This class is intended for kids with delays (such as speech or occupational delays, like Reese), and it is meant to give those kids an added boost as they reinforce the things they've learned in the morning session.



So, in essence, Reese is attending all-day school. My hope is that he will succeed in this program and catch up to the other kids his age. That way, we can enroll him at CCS next year, like his brother. But if he still shows delay, then we will keep him in the public school system so he can receive the special help he needs. (Private schools just don't have the resources to aid special needs kids). Either way, we are so darn proud of Reese. He's such a fighter, and works so hard to overcome obstacles. He is so brave, to enter into new settings without Mom and Dad, and to participate in class.

It's so difficult to let him go out on his own. I'd rather be there beside him, explaining things and making things easy for him. But this program is what he needs. To learn on his own and face tough academics head on. Without Mommy there to give him the answers. It will make him a better student for life. So, here I sit. Rooting for him on the inside. We prayed for him before bed, the night before. And Mark had the same anxieties that I had. He was in tears for Reese, afraid to let his little brother start a new school alone. Sweet Mark decided to sleep in Reese's bed and comfort him all night. What a great, protective brother!

Reese happily came off the bus at the end of his first day. I tried to get as much info as I could from him, before he completely forgot what he'd done at school. He seemed to like it. He liked recess. And storytime. And he was so happy I'd packed him an extra juice box and pretzels for lunch. That's all I could pull from him, before he got frustrated and wanted to run and play. That's enough for me, though. Enough to calm my fears and know that he is in good hands. Even if those hands aren't mine. xoxo