It’s over and it went just fine. Nia is now all set to be shunned by the private/home schoolers! Whatever. It’s not them that I have to worry about – it’s that our little girl makes the most of her education, no matter who’s teaching her.
Now, on to the next stressful thing we face as parents!
I have been dreading this day for quite some time now. Just thinking about it ties my stomach up in knots and makes me need to take deep breaths. I’m scared. Worried. Stressed. Doubtful. Questioning. Nervously excited. Scared. I know I already wrote that feeling. I felt it necessary to repeat it since it’s the one consuming me.
In a few hours, I will be registering Nia for Kindergarten. I have already downloaded, printed and filled out the forms. I’ve paper clipped them all nice and neat with all the other forms they require you to show them. Her birth certificate – check. Her social security card – check. Proof that we live in the school district – check. Proof that I am who I say I am – check. Proof that she’s had all her shots – check. My sanity and peace of mind – ah – yeah, nope. Those are pretty far from getting a check.
I’m just so apprehensive about so many things when it comes to this big step. I know I felt the same feelings when I registered her for Pre-K but now it’s official. Our baby girl is starting school- that’s difficult enough to deal with – but then there’s also all the judgments that surround school. I hear it all the time from other mothers…”We would definitely not send our child to public school. Private school is the only option for us.” But then there’s the… “I don’t trust any school system to teach my child. We are homeschooling them.” I know I shouldn’t care what they say but it’s hard not to let their attitudes put doubt in my head.
All I can do is deal with it the best I can and not let Nia sense my feelings. I want her to be excited and happy about starting “big kid” school. So far, she is and that’s really the one thing that settles my stress. I’m just going to take it one day at a time and that starts today. Wish us luck!
First Day of School
I wish I had more pictures of Nia’s first day of school to share with you but we’re still not up and running with our own internet so we have to keep all of our online activity short and simple. With that said – I just wanted to let you all know that Nia (and Mommy) did super. Even Nate handled the whole thing well.
After he and I walked her to her classroom (which I plan to do for the first few weeks of school), we ran some errands together and then came back home where we read some books and snacked. (He had Goldfish crackers and juice while I had coffee – this was the earliest I had to be up in like 10 months or something! Talk about spoiled!)
It was really nice getting to devote all my attention to Nate. He’s always had to share mommy and daddy so I’m really glad I’m able to give him some quality one-on-one time now. This first day though I felt like it was more like I was watching the clock – I really couldn’t wait for us to get back in the car and pick up the big sis from school.
Nia told me she had a lot of fun and her teacher said she was wonderful (I’m sure she tells all the parents that during the first week but it was still nice to hear). Nia said she did all the typical preschool stuff – heard stories, colored/drew pictures, ate snacks, played (and she “shared the toy doggy”)… I’m just so excited for her and all the neat things she’s going to get to do. She even got her first sticker from the teacher from being good in class – it says “100%” Nate even got a sticker today – his said “I visited the Post Office.”
I’m a mess. Tomorrow is Nia’s first day of school (Pre-K) and I’m freaking out. I never thought I would be like this. I’ve always been able to handle leaving the kids on their own with daycare workers or at the YMCA child watch. This is different though. This time I’m dropping her off all by herself and it’s not to have fun with friends like at daycare. It’s to learn and listen and make new friends. From tomorrow on, she will be judged for how much she knows and how she acts. It’s just unnerving to me. I’m even totally stressing out about where to drop her off – you should see the freaking map we have to follow for drop off and pick up! I’m so afraid I’m going to be ‘that parent’ who drives the wrong way or something!
She doesn’t seem fazed by the idea of starting school. I took her there for an open house last week and she walked right in and started playing with the toy kitchen. She was fine. She was also ok that a few other little kids were playing together – when two of them came over to play with the kitchen, she didn’t want to play with them. That made me worry that she might not make friends or something but by the end of our time there she was playing with them. I know it will all work out the way it’s supposed to – I just wish I didn’t worry about it so much. I know Nia will adjust and have a good time there – as long as I make it through drop off and pick up, the rest should be a breeze.
My alma mater has once again earned the title of “No. 1 Party School” by The Princeton Review. You’re so jealous, I know. But you UGA grads don’t have much room to talk! Apparently, the Dawgs are in the top 5. (My kind of people!)
I’ll admit I did my fair share of underage drinking as a Mountaineer. I missed one two many of my classes that Andrew and I are still paying for thanks to my college loan. It’s funny what you don’t think about (or care to think about) when you’re living away from home and pretending you’re all cool.
Did I have a blast? Yes. Do I have any regrets? Yes. Would I do it again? Yes. I am who I am today because of all that I experienced, good and bad. I’m proud to say I went to WVU. It was a beautiful and interesting place and alcohol was NEVER hard to swallow – whether you were 18 or not. Some worry that the ranking will leave a bad taste in the mouths of employers, leaving them to wonder if their prospective new employee got any college education or did he/she just spend his/her time past out in a stairwell.
I don’t have to worry about that – it wasn’t the drinking that interfered with my education. It was my brain.
WOOHOO! WVU IS NUMBER ONE! At least we’re known for something…
This fall our baby girl will be prekindergarten age. It’s something that has me stressed out beyond belief.
I just can’t believe how hard this is! I mean, when/where I grew up there was really only one place where every kid went to “nursery” school and after that there was really only one private school so it was pretty much a given that I would just get educated at the school that served my address. With Nia, there are several choices – from religious to public to private – from half-day schedules to full-day schedules – how am I supposed to know what’s best?
I’ve heard great things about the one religious school and the person in charge of it has been super nice to me on the phone (but like Andrew says – everyone’s nice in this town). At that school your child can either attend 3 days a week or 5 and the school days only last for 3 hours. In comparison, the public school pre-k is (of course) 5 days a week and those school days last for about 6 hours. The other difference – we’ll have to pay a tuition for the religious school but because the public school pre-k is state funded your child is not guaranteed a spot.
So far, the plan is to apply for both schools and see what happens. I just filled out the religious school application and got a little dizzy and nervous when I was asked to describe my child’s personality and abilities. What the heck do most parents write there? My son throws a tantrum when he doesn’t get his way – has a tendency to put food in his mouth, chew it and then spit it out – he picks his nose and eats it and continually tries to play with poop.
I just think Nia is such a remarkable little girl and I think she is so super smart – but don’t most parents think that of their kids? I tried to be as proud and descriptive as I could be without sounding like I was just bragging about my genius 3-year-old.
I hate to think what I’ll be like when her brain really depends on what school we pick.
Are You Zhazha? 
Say what?