First Day of Kindergarten?

A couple of days ago, Connor could have started Kindergarten in the Arlington County Public School System. He would've walked a few blocks to school, and been among about 80 children who entered the doors for the first time as Kindergarteners, all of whom live in our neighborhood. He would be in one of FIVE kindergarten classes.

I would've taken a photo like so many other parents did, as he set off on his first day of school. I would've cried. He would've been expected to be in class from 8:50 AM to 3:41 PM.

But I'm saving all that for next year.

Instead, Connor goes back to his beloved Waldorf school for his second year of Kindergarten. In Waldorf schools, children attend Kindergarten for (at least) two years, and the big deal there is not entering Kindergarten, but moving onto first grade. That's when you meet your class teacher, who, if all goes well, will be with the class for the next eight years. The main issue we've been dealing with recently with respect to school are all the polite inquiries complete with feigned excitment of "are you getting excited about Kindergarten?". This question always confuses Connor, because he has been in Kindergarten. And he usually tells the curious person so, which confuses the curious person because she swore Connor just announced he had turned five a few weeks ago.

Connor chose his own clothes (as you might be able to tell from the photo I snapped this afternoon - HELLO - did he grow since the end of last year? I think so.). He reported playing with E., watching a puppet show that was the same story as the one we saw together yesterday when the children went to school for an hour, and he reported it was rice day for snack, which is - by far - his favorite snack day. By 7:30 tonight, he was in bed, and ready to fall asleep. School wears him out. I remember this from last year as well.

Connor adores both of his teachers, and has a total of 15 children in his class. They will have a 16th join in November, a boy who attended his school until about Spring break of two years ago. At that point, the class will have 8 boys and 8 girls.

This year might be the best year yet! Am I nervous? A little bit. Not about what he'll be doing this year, but about how his transition next year will go. However, I tend to live in the moment with my kids, so I don't think about it much. It'll likely weigh heavily on me as Summer comes to a close next year.

Tomorrow, Helen begins school. Today, she asked if we could go together, so maybe she won't diss me at the door, as she seemed inclined to do. Whatever happens, I'm already excited about my first finger knitting project! And then we're going to be making knot dolls, a project I have not yet done.

Elaine