What Kindergarten Taught Me

As I sit here typing this, Logan has just a few more weeks of Kindergarten. I cannot believe it. Where has this year gone?!?! Everyone told me the time would go by even faster once he started school. I didn't believe them because I didn't think it could possibly go by any quicker than it already does. But here we are and my "baby" will officially be a first grader in just a few short weeks.

Logan has learned and grown so much this year. He's become more independent. He learned to read and to spell and his writing has improved so, so much (remember his struggles with this last year?).  He's grown in his faith. It's amazing what can be done in a school year, and I am continually amazed at what kindergartners learn in the classroom these days. A lot of the stuff he has learned this year I did not learn until first or even second grade. And no, he did not have to know how to tie his shoes in order to go on to first grade.

Logan wasn't the only one learning this year. It was a big learning experience for me as well. There were so many changes for me this year, some I expected and some I couldn't have imagined. This is what I learned.

1) The first day of school was rough, but it wasn't as rough as I thought it would be. The first day of preschool was actually harder for me. I was way more at ease sending him into the same building he went for preschool as opposed to if we would have sent him to public school. Meeting his teacher prior to the start of the school year also helped.

2)Having your child gone all day takes awhile to get used to! Being a stay-at-home mom since before Logan's birth, this was by far the biggest change of all. I was beside myself for the first month of school. I did A LOT of house work and house projects to occupy my time (ahem...painting the dining room). The house was too quite. It stayed clean during the day. I had free time. I started writing again/more. A quick trip to the store was actually a quick trip to the store.  I suddenly had time to do the things I hadn't been able to do in six years. I handled his absence better some days than others. It was pretty difficult after he went back to school after Christmas break (more on this later).

3) I am still not a morning person. I hate waking up to an alarm clock, especially after NOT waking up to one for a few years. It hasn't been bad, and lucky for me Logan is much more of a morning person than I am. He has done great waking up on time, eating breakfast, getting himself dressed and ready. I am really surprised at how smooth our mornings have gone.

4) Bedtimes are important, but don't stress about it. Logan started off the school year going to bed at 9 p.m. Later than I wanted, but he was still having issues (he thought I left the house when Matt left for work). So, bedtime basically became when Matt left for work. He slept well, woke up well, and wasn't a total bear after putting in a full day of school. I think all this was aided in the fact that he hasn't napped since he was 2 1/2.  I know this won't work for everyone, but it worked for us. However, once Matt moved to days, bedtime was moved up to 8 p.m. We all go upstairs at roughly the same time. I don't feel like I need to rush through bedtime stories and cuddle time. I know he'll get to sleep. It works.

5). There will be days when you want nothing more than to run up to the school, get your child, and bring him home. One of these days, of course, was the day of the Newtown, Ct. shootings. Matt and I had been at lunch when we first heard about the school shootings. To be honest, I didn't think about it much at the time. Sadly, school shootings have become a little too common. I figured it was in some high school somewhere. It wasn't until we got home about an hour later that I sat down to read a news report and learned that it was a kindergarten class. I didn't get past the first paragraph.  Having a kindergartner, this put it on a whole new level for me. I couldn't read anymore. I couldn't (and wouldn't) watch the news. Part of this was personal, part of this was I was NOT going to give in to the media circus that such events produce (the irony....I'm a journalism major).   I told Matt that I didn't want the news on when Logan was around.

6) Days like the one mentioned above change everything. I make absolutely sure that hugs and kisses are exchanged, that I tell him I love him. He's even went into his classroom and I've waved him back. I know he's not always going to be cool with this. The day your child comes home from school and tells you what they do if a "bad guy" comes in the school will rip out your heart. One, because your child lives in a world where such "drills" must be practices, and two, that he will say it in such a casual way that you wonder how much he really knows.

7) I love school uniforms! We do not have clothing battles, it eliminates the "name brand" saga, and the biggest surprise of all: it has saved us money! Logan's uniforms consist of Khakie or navy pants or shorts, and polos in either white, navy, or hunter green. So we have some options to play with. It's not the exact same thing every day.  I've heard the argument that uniforms take away from a child's expression of self, but there is so, so, so much more to a child then the clothes they are wearing. And really, at this age, is it the kid or the parent?

8) Do as much morning prep as you can the night before. This is something I have done since my own school days....and work days. It makes a big difference. I get the lunchbox packed, we lay out the clothes (yes, even with a uniform, we still do this), make sure whatever needs to go back to school is in the backpack. It makes for a smoother morning!

9) I need more ideas for the lunchbox. Or at least I need to find more things that Logan will eat. It's hard to get him to mix it up when it comes to the food he eats. For instance, he spent the first part of the school year wanting turkey and cheese sandwiches. Now, he's on a peanut butter kick. Carrots were a staple, as were apples. We'll work on variety over the summer months.

10) The smallest of things can bring great comfort. The first weeks of school were rough for Logan. One of those first days he asked if he could bring a picture of me to school. Thru my own tears I quickly found one of me and him. It's been in his backpack since. He also liked to bring something small that would fit in his pocket. He took a tiny Smurf charm that was mine. He brought tiny toy dinosaurs. It didn't seem to matter what it was, as long as he knew it was there. Pinterest has an awesome idea for a "Mommy and Me" bracelet set. I'm trying to think of a way to make this concept less girlie.

11) "The Kissing Hand" is a fabulous book. If you have a child getting ready to go to school, or even just off on their own (camp, overnight visit, anything), get this book. But, bring some tissues when you read it :o)

12) School pictures are not worth the price. For preschool we bought a larger picture package and the pictures were not good. This year the pictures were great, but we bought one of the smallest packages. Major drawback for not being able to see the pics before you buy. But, I am a mom and I have sucker stamped on my forehead. So I will continue to buy a school photo in some form. Sigh.

13) Stock up! When it is close to the start of the school year, pay attention to the sales. Logan's school supply list was pretty small this year and a lot of the things we already had stashed away (thanks to Matt's former employer's back-to-school bash). And keep an eye out for clearance after school has begun. This is a good time to get backpacks, lunchboxes....that sort of thing. Last fall I got Logan's backpack for first grade-the Darth Vader pattern from Old Navy, for $5. That's $5 total! Backpacks and lunchboxes are about the only thing that he really can choose school-shopping wise, but he's so, so, so into Star Wars right now, he's cool with it. This year I want to stock up on sandwich and snack bags. I use containers as much as possible, but if I can buy the bags cheaper, I'll do it. And I use them for things other than food, so it's really a multitasking purchase :o)

14) I'm a bigger germ-a-phob than I though. A stomach bug ripped through L's school in the fall, and I was a paranoid nutcase for about a month thinking Logan would bring it home and infect us all. I've always had puke phobia. It didn't happen. He didn't get a stomach bug until January and the rest of us did not catch it. However, the poor kid refuses to eat Monicals, since that's what he had for dinner the night before he got sick. I know this year was a rough year for everyone illness-wise, and while our family was pretty lucky in the grand scheme of things, it was one of the sickest years for Logan and myself. Colds, sore throats, sinus infections. It wasn't fun. I don't know if it was because it was the first year in school or the fact that it was just a sick year or a combination of both. I preached to him about hand washing and using hand sanitizer (there's a stand in his classroom, plus a little clip on his lunchbox). I used a ton of hand sanitizer myself. We all got flu shots (which really isn't a new thing).

And now....time to enjoy our summer vacation!