Kindergarten: Epilogue

Sam has had a great first week! He loves his teachers and he loves being in Kindergarten. When I picked him up on his first day, he told me 'This was the BEST FIRST DAY of Kindergarten EVER!' I am so glad that he is loving it. He told me all about the 'Buckets' they have at school, and how you can fill someone's bucket by being kind to them but if you are ugly to people, that's dumping their bucket out and that is sad. He said, 'Mommy, when I'm nice to somebody, that fills up their bucket and it makes me feel good and fills up my bucket too! But they're not REAL buckets, they're just imagintary.' So precious.

I'm used to picking him up from pre-school and getting a bunch of 'Nuthin' and 'I dunno' when I ask him questions. So I know it must be a big day when he actually talks in detail about his day- the 'Tidy Up' song they learned, playing on the playground, the letters they talked about- 'just three, today, Mommy, just A, B and C, we didn't have time for all of them...' He also told me they were too busy learning to have lunch that day... Somehow I don't think that's true.

We took a field trip to the Cherry Creek Apple Orchard in Pontotoc on Thursday with his entire class. It was good for me to see him with his teachers and classmates. I have been worried about how he will do since he is the youngest in his class, small for his age and still very emotionally immature in a lot of ways. I was pleased to see that he generally handles himself very well. He is kind and cooperative. He is definitely very sensitive, which is not news to me, but his teachers are so patient and loving. He had a little meltdown when we drove by the Honey Bee boxes but Ms. Kathy was very kind and just held him in her lap, explaining why bees are good and showing him the bricks on top of the boxes that keep the bees inside.

I have also realized this week just how important sleep and food are to his attitude. Of course, I've known this, but he had a couple of REALLY good nights of sleep this week and it was like waking up to a different child. He was so pleasant! So I am going to make a big effort to make sure he gets plenty of sleep this school year.

Dear God, Grant me the WISDOM I need as a parent in guiding Sam through his first year of school. Show me the appropriate limits and boundaries to set, as well as the freedoms to grant. Help me to be his protector, his cheerleader, his confidant and his comforter. Safeguard his little heart from evil and cruelty, provide friendships that are good and glorifying to you, and give him a spirit of kindness, gentleness and self-control as he grows. Amen