Kindergarten

It's that time again!  Simon and I went for Kindergarten registration this week.  He was fine and happy until I reminded him I'd go in the gym to fill out paperwork and he'd go with the teachers.  He started to bury his head in my leg outside the gym but the principal stepped in and said, "Hi, I remember you!" 
Simon looked up and she said, "Why don't you come with me and play some games and your mom can sit and do all the paperwork?"  He didn't let go of my hand.  I kissed the top of his head and said, "Have fun!"

Just then a teacher walked up and said to the principal, "We have room for one more in room 5."  The principal bent down and said, "You can go with her and she'll take you, your Mom will be right here waiting on you when you are done."  I stepped into the gym and he walked down the hall with the teacher.

It's best not to watch them walk away.  It's "easier" after the first ones, mostly because you know what to expect, but it's still hard to send your little guy off to be evaluated.  By people that don't know you or him.  Simon can be so shy and quiet, he has such a soft heart. 

On the parenting front, I have a little more pressure with Simon because I've done all of his preschool, with Noah our sitter helped, with Eli the daycare did some and I did some, but with Simon it's pretty much all me.  And I think he has some dyslexia tendencies, so we'll see how that pans out too.  I think he's really smart though the testing may not show that (like Eli!).

When Simon was done he was pleased and not traumatized so that was good.  I asked him what he did and he said, "Jumped and hopped." 
"Did you have to tell them your letters?"
"Yeah."
"Did you get any mixed up?"
"No, I got them all right."
"Good!"  I'm not so sure about that, but he'll have them all solid by August so it doesn't matter, there's only a couple he's not sure of at this point anyway.  "Did you have to say the sounds of the letters?"
"Nope!" he said with a smile.  That's what we've been working hard on lately.
"What about numbers, did you have to do them?"
"Yeah."
"How did that go, we haven't worked on those in a while."
"Oh, it was fine."

The boy can count, but I'm not sure he can identify all of the numbers, I haven't assessed that on my own.  They also did a "dental check" so he got a baggie with a toothbrush, toothpaste, and floss.  He was mostly excited about the floss, in a box, so the rest of our conversation revolved around that.

It's hard to believe he's big enough for school, but at the same time, it's right, he has a healthy appetite for learning and is anxious to get going with it. 

I worry for his tender heart and quiet nature-will he make friends?  Will he feel left out because he's shy?  I worry for his manners-have I taught him enough to be out in the school world without me?  I worry for his spirit-will making him do what everyone else is doing crush is artistic abilities?  I worry that he's dyslexic too and is going to struggle like Eli and his Dad before him.  I worry that if he's dyslexic I'm not going to be able to handle two with dyslexia.  I worry that sending him to public school is not the right decision-a first for kindergarten. 

Worry might be too strong of a word.  I don't worry.  Those are my concerns and then I work very hard to alleviate those concerns.  We still have four months to prepare him for the world of kindergarten, and I know in my heart of hearts, I'm doing the best I can for all of my boys with our current circumstances.  Those will change in the future and what we do will change too, however, it will still be the best I can do.