A Family on Five Acres: Y4K?

W*sconsin offers Kindergarten for four-year-olds (4K), and last Monday was the open house at Sarah's school. All of sudden, it seems like just around the corner that she'll be getting on the bus and heading off to school. A couple of months ago, I never could have pictured it, but she's gained a lot of confidence since Christmas, and I think she'll be ready when the time comes.

After staying with her in Sunday School since September, I'm finally able to leave after a few minutes and wait for her in the community room. I tried it a couple of weeks ago, and afterwards, she proclaimed, "Let's do it again next week!" Okay! The irony is that, now I have to overcome my own discomfort with walking into the near-empty community room and sitting down to chat with people I don't know well (Don heads home after coffee time and comes back to get us after Sunday School). So, we're both growing.

After talking excitedly about school for the last year or so, as we pulled into the parking lot Monday, Sarah asked doubtfully, "Mom, why I want to go to school?" When we got to the classroom, she shyly said "Hello" to her teacher, gripping my finger. I walked her around the room. When we came to the carpet where the kids sit for story time, I pointed out the different colored shapes on the floor and asked her, "Which one do you think you'll like to sit on?" Big mistake. She plopped herself down on the purple oval and wouldn't budge.

Pretty soon, she got Dad to sit beside her and wouldn't let him get up (I've played this game before and wouldn't get drawn in). I explored the play stations scattered around the room and tried to entice her to check them out. She refused for a while but finally could resist the hamster no longer. She gradually moved on to other things, and it was tough to pull her away an hour later.

4K is half-day, Monday through Thursday. We'll find out in June whether Sarah will be in the morning or afternoon session. While I had thought morning would work better for us, I'm now hoping for afternoon. I knew that one bus comes into our neighborhood for all the kids from 4K through high school in the morning, then the 4K kids have their own little bus bring them home before lunch. I thought the situation was reversed in the afternoon, but we learned that the 4Kers have their own bus both ways then. I don't like the idea of Sarah getting on the bus with teenagers. That just seems too intimidating. I think she (and I) would do better with a little bus.

Either way, morning or afternoon, I think Sarah will be ready to spread her wings and go off to do her own thing for a few hours a day by the end of summer. I think she's somewhat outgrown staying home with Mom and Dad all day. In the past month, she has blossomed, sharing more complex thoughts (and sentences) and becoming much more physical -- dancing, jumping, kicking, etc. She's quite a character and actually talks with other adults when we're out.

I will be ready for her to fly, also. Having a few hours a day to focus on getting things done will be a welcome change. Right now, even though I'm fortunate to have Don home all the time and I get a mostly uninterrupted hour of quiet time after lunch, I feel as though I'm always trying to squeeze in a few more to-dos while Sarah wants my attention. I look forward to focusing more on her while she's home and hearing about all the things she's learning when she gets back from school. Half a day seems perfect.

I'm not expecting the transition to be easy, however. I know there will be tears. I hope they will be only mine, but I'm prepared for them to be hers, too. I asked the teacher if I'd be allowed to sit in the back of the classroom for a few days if necessary, and she assured me I would, although she's never had a child who needed it. I'm sure she thinks I'm a helicopter mom, but I know Sarah, and new situations are tough for her. I don't want to push her and have to spend weeks working our way back to her comfort zone. Been there; done that; don't care to repeat it.