Tuesday, September 28, 2010

To stay or to go...

I spent a good portion of this summer wondering if I should send Katelin to kindergarten. Most of her preschool friends would be starting school, she was "reading" on occassion and obviously excited and ready for more learning, but inside I felt a huge sense of hesitation.

I couldn't explain it. How do you explain a feeling? I could explain that I dreaded signing her up for a full-time job at five years old (kindergarten is full day here). I could explain that I wasn't ready to fight her to wake up every morning at 6:oo a.m. And I could explain many other small reasons we might consider keeping her home, but none of these were the actual reason.

Each time I decided kindergarten was the best option, I would immediately feel unsettled, confused, and frustrated. I finally admitted to myself, no matter the reason, I couldn't move forward when I felt so uncertain. And so the first day of school came and went, and our life stayed the same.

Once I had made the decision, I felt like I'd been given a gift. Another year with my little girl. The first few weeks of school looked something like this:

Puddle Jumping


Hours of playing airplane (riding in one, not flying)
Prepping for a puppet show

Noticing trees, and birds, and bugs, and slugs...
Burying treasures in the sand
There is no way to measure what Katelin is gaining from being at home with us, but somehow, I don't feel bad that she is here playing and helping me and doing projects and going outside instead of sitting in a classroom.



3 comments:

This Idaho Girl said...

I've been thinking about this very thing a lot lately. My girls are July babies. Should I send them? At this point I really don't know. I went when I was barely five and survived. I guess I'll just have to trust my instinct when that time comes. Glad you don't regret your decision, which was the right one for you!

Texas Dimons said...

You will never regret it! I kept both boys home and extra year and I am seeing the benefits from it. Plus Austin and I made a ton of memories last year!

Lisa said...

Amen! I'm with you 100%! I think you've made a great choice. Build up the memories - school can wait!