Kids these Days

Evan completed his first week of school today. And he's doing great!

Obligatory 'leaving the house/first day of school' photo

He seemed to do good emotionally for the first couple of days, but on Thursday night of last week he became very sad and didn't want to go to school the next day. I asked him why and after a bit of working him he told me "I don't have any friends". My heart broke for him. I did my best to encourage him that he's a great kid and everyone is new, that he just needed to ask some kids to play; but what I really wanted to do was hold him in my lap and tell him that he never had to go to school again...ever:)

When I picked him up on Friday he had a big smile on his face. I asked why and he said "I made a friend!" I was soo happy to hear him say that. Then I asked what his name was and he had no clue, haha:) Becky thought it was a bit strange, but I told her that's just what to expect with a young boy. He probably won't know any other kids name that he plays with, and even if he might learn it by chance, that's all he'll know.

He was glad to have the weekend off and has seemed to like school the last couple of days as well. With a little encouragement he even found out the names of some of the kids he plays with (Joseph, Peyton, and Liam). We're also excited that a girl who goes to our church (Ella) is in the same class with him also. She's a fun, outgoing girl and I know that helps him through the day.

The strangest thing about him going to Kindergarten is that I have almost no idea what he does for 3 hours during the morning. I've always known what he's up to and now I can barely find out what he does. All I know is that between 8:45 and 11:45 he has recess, practices counting, and eats lunch. I have a lot more sympathy for my parents trying to talk with me about what happened during school hours. Sorry mom:)

I do think it's pretty amazing that Evan says they are learning to count to 30. Thirty! Kindergarten ain't ABC's and counting to 10 no more.

He also came back sick after the second day. It's like a germ factory in there. But he seems to be getting over it pretty well.

Where did the last 5 years go?

I know I need to be more consistent with reviewing/revisiting/reliving my Taiwan trip, but there is something HUGE happening in our lives right now. Evan is going to Kindergarten tomorrow!

Our tiny baby boy is going to school.

It really hit me hard last night and I started freaking out. I felt like I had done nothing in the past five years to prepare him for this day. All of the sudden I was cramming data into his tiny ears: this is how you make friends; this is how you treat your teacher; don't take a ride from someone you don't know; don't talk with strangers, but it's ok to talk with the kids you don't know in your class; etc. I had to stop myself cause I didn't want to freak him out, or maybe because I didn't want to freak myself out anymore.

I'm so proud of who Evan is. I think he's probably better prepared for this experience than we know, but you can't help but panic when you think about the radical changes that are headed his way.

Several months ago I blogged about the options that we had been debating regarding half day vs. full day K. We decided that Evan will attend the local public school (Snow elementary) for half days for the first few months and then evaluate a transition to full day after that. I think it's a good option for us and for him, but it's definitely one of those landmark sad/exciting days that are unfolding in our lives. Good Luck Evan, we'll be praying for you.

Kindygarden

I hate it when people call Kindergarten "kindygarden". I try hard not to be the pronunciation police, but there are some words too annoying to be ignored. But I digress...

Becky and I have been traveling around the Kindergarten circuit in preparation for Evan's entrance into academia next fall. The state of Michigan is mandating that all schools must transition to all day Kindergaten in 2010, but the Dearborn district has decided to be ahead of the curve and the public schools are all implementing full day K starting this fall.

When I first heard about this I was pretty put off by the concept. I know that having our kids at home with mom puts us in the minority these days, but it seems like a major challenge to put kids into school all day instead of easing the transition with a half day program. Last night we went to the open house for the local public elementary school (Snow) and I have to admit that I left the meeting much more open minded about the possibility than I've been the last few weeks.

The two things that stood out to me are:
1) It give the teachers more time to teach each subject. Instead of rushing from writing to math to recess the students are able to work on each topic with greater flexibility and less pressure to power through it.
2) It allows more time for social interaction and communal learning. I think this is one of the most important things for Evan to get from Kindergarten; a full day program gives the students time to interact that doesn't exist in half day K.

So here I am, harnessing the limitless potential of the internet, asking you readers what your take is. Have any of you sent your kids to full day K? or experienced it yourself?