Monday, June 22, 2009

Last Day of Kindergarten...shedding tears

I remember a mere 8 months ago I was freaked. FREAKED I tell you...because I was convinced the school district was trying to prepare my then five year olds for freshman year of college.

I remember thinking...what in the hell ? They don't even have to time to eat paste because the school district thinks they need to be full fledged readers, writers and illustrators of their writings, counting to 115, counting by 2s,5s and 10s, understanding the value of money, doing basic addition and subtraction all in a 3 hour day. If it made my 36 year old mind want to explode, I could only imagine what it would do to my twins little minds.

But here we are on their last day of kindergarten and they can do everything the school anticipated they'd be able to do.

Why just yesterday my son made a grocery list. He wanted to make sure we got pop, not because I let him drink it, but because he could spell it all by himself with no help from me. And what he couldn't spell he sounded out and came so close. I was ecstatic to go buy my green bens (he has a special recipe he likes to make) and toylet paper.

I'm amazed. And completely proud of my big six year olds. That are now classifying animal species. And making me feel kinda simple because I'm NOT smarter than a kindergartner.

But it's good. It's a great feeling. And while this year wasn't without it's challenges, standing on the other side of it I feel ...lucky and blessed.

We lucked in to a top-notch school with fantastic staff and my children have grown in this wonderfully innocent way that I just really can't put in to words.

It's a tad bittersweet though, because I no longer have babies. I have these grown up kids. We have this changed relationship where I'm needing to recognize them for the big kids that they are.
It's new and different and... beautiful and I feel thankful for every day they are in my life. For every new experience that we can share.
Together.

6 comments:

Sornie said...

All of that seems so much further ahead of what I remember kindergarten to be. Of course in my day it was only a half day which amounted to about 2.5 hours when you factor in nap time. Your kids are gunning for my job.

Ann(ie) said...

Such a sweet post love and wow. That's a lot to know by kindergarten. I just remember My favorite part being the graham cracker and nap part minus the nap! Or was that preschool?them were the days!!

NATUI said...

I love that he wanted to buy pop just because he could spell it. That is what makes our kids so damned cute. That innocence in the midst of their developing grown up attitudes.

Shana Baehr said...

Hard to believe how fast the school year goes by, huh?

debbie said...

It is amazing how young they do the academic stuff now! And just wait until they are in high school. I am lost!

Life As I Know It said...

It IS amazing what they learn in Kindergarten now. I felt the same way as you at the beginning of my son's K year, but he handled it well and changed so much in that year.
Congrats on finishing Kindergarten!