Kindergarten

I don't know how it happened, I truly don't. I feel like I have walked with this child since he came into this world two months early, weighing 3 lbs and 9oz. But somehow, along our walk, he grew. He changed into a tiny little man who says words like, "tremendous" and "parasaurolophus". I knew this day would come, I knew about it last year, when I started researching schools, I knew about it this year, when he left his last day of preschool, but I didn't expect it to actually come.

It felt like one of those far-off days that I had all the time in the world to wait for, like a wedding or a graduation. But here it is, whether I'm ready for it or not...Carrick's first day of kindergarten.

Today wasn't even the real first day, it was a day for the teacher to get to know the new students. She teaches Montessori at the public school, so there are some children that will be returning from last school year. However, there are many of them that are new to school, or new to Montessori, and today was for them. (And the parents.)

Carrick's teacher gathered them all around a tape square in the middle of the room. She even let Carrick blow out the candle that he had burning in the middle of the square. As soon as she sat down and began her introduction, Carrick's hand shot into the air, eager to share something with his new teacher. She acknowledged his attempt to get her attention, then continued. When she was done speaking, she called on Carrick, who immediately went into a long-winded monologue about how he wants her to teach him about babies, how he already knows about oceans, and how a train should be built next to his house and he would call it "Trackdale".

I can laugh about it now, but at the moment, I was mortified. I just wanted my son to sit down, and pay attention, and be quiet like the rest of the kids. But that's not him and that's why I chose this teacher and this class.

When I toured the kindergartens offered at the public school this past December, I was with the principal. She gave me a tour of the campus (which I was mostly familiar with) as well as a chance to observe the Montessori and the regular kindergartens. Of the two classrooms, I saw, I came in during a transition period in each one. The way the teachers and the class interacted during these transitions were like night and day.

I knew that even though the teacher in the regular kindergarten was accomplished, and had her entire class reading already, Carrick would get lost in that environment. The noise, the chaos, the sheer number of students would cause him to freak out, get in trouble, or get lost in the shuffle.

When I saw how the Montessori teacher handled the transition period, my breath caught in my throat. I thought, "This woman will be able to handle Carrick". She has been teaching for 41 years, and has the biggest heart, and the most understanding mind for her students. I was reassured of this after the "lesson" was over today.

So, back to today; she took the parents on a tour of the campus after showing us her classrooms. We saw the art/music building, the cafeteria, and the office. She wanted to make sure that no one was feeling frantic on the first day of school. She even outlined the drop-off and pick-up procedures. Then she took the kids back to her room, and the parents hung out for half an hour. She gave the kids lessons, and then let them all out. Carrick was the first one out the door, shaking his teacher's hand on the way out.

I went up to her after the children were all done shaking her hand. I expressed my concerns as a mother, how energetic my son was, and that I hoped everything would be ok. Her response was more than reassuring. She loves his curiosity, and regards that as a positive point. She said, "If he's bored with something, it's my job to find out how we can challenge him. Maybe he needs to spend time in the first grade room." (In Montessori, it's mixed ages.) She knows her stuff, and Carrick, as I imagined, is in good hands.

The simple fact that she meets with the first-timers before school even starts speaks volumes about her commitment to the parents and children. Carrick literally spent every night for the past week crying because he "doesn't know about kindergarten." (Even though we have talked about it, read books, and watched shows about kindergarten.) Now, he can walk through the gates on Wednesday with the rest of the school, a confident kindergartner.