Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Facing life with school aged children

It's been nearing closer, knowing that M is starting kindergarten next year. I had delayed for as long as possible to submit his registration paperwork, in part because I couldn't place my finger on his immunization card. I finally relented, facing the fact that I'll get a copy of his records at his physical next month. The other touchy part is the emergency card info, while I know people in town, we don't have any family nearby, so I need to double check and see if I can use them before I add their name. I brought it by the school office, and had no problems, it was almost too easy. The big upside is I missed out on the crush of people waiting the first day, and given that the assessments are during a two week period next month, and I got the slot and day I wanted, it all worked out.

I must admit though, it was strange parking my minivan in front of the school. I vividly remember my mom parking her van in front of the school, every school we went to. It was a bit de ja vu for me, knowing I'm now the mom, I'm the grown up, and M gets to live and laugh and learn. Complicating it more, M and I had this weird conversation this morning, he didn't want to go to preschool. Yammering on about these three kids (ones that he plays with a lot) that were playing and said they didn't want to be his friend. I listened, and my heart ached, I thought, oh no, what's going to happen next year? We talked about it and I learned that he didn't like it, that it made him feel sad. I told him the next time it happened to tell them that even if you don't want to play with someone, you should still be nice to them. Then a second later, he was off and running again. Didn't give it a second thought. When I went to drop his brother off today, M couldn't get out the car fast enough to see his friends. Did I hear him right this morning? Problems at this age must all be relative, because M told me he didn't want me to keep him home. Go figure that one out.

About the school, I love it, it reminds me of an old fashioned school house. It was a bit odd seeing Dr. Seuss (and other characters) painted on the inside of the office, then again, so were the small chairs by the principal's office. I handed the secretary the paperwork, she made copies of the gas bill, social security card, and M's birth certificate, and I made the appointment for the kindergarten assessment. Bright and early two weeks from now, on a Wednesday morning so M can see the kids at the school, and get a taste of what next year will be like. I asked for and received the application to be a parent volunteer and will bring that to M's assessment w/ my tb test results so I can start to help out right away in his classroom.

The only thing that threw me for a loop was how the city offers bussing to the schools, even though we live less than a minute away from the school. The drop off is at the end of our alley, and another p/u is at the 1st grade school. I'm not planning on using it, there's no need, but its nice to know its there. I'm not quite sure if I'll work past 1:45 when M's in school, depends on how this summer goes, what we're facing in August w/ R's job. R knows that my first priority is taking care of the kids, and being there for whatever they need. At the same time, I know he'll do whatever he can-he's already asked me if I minded if he's the one to volunteer in M's class every week. That's why I'm on the fence about the specifics about working. I need flexiblity so I can carry the load of working and tending to our family. Then again, I have a spouse who wants to be just as involved as I am, so we'll share this load together. August 19th is penciled in now, the start of a new chapter in our lives.

No comments: