Thoughts as F Starts School

 

Today is the day. F has been waiting with increasing anticipation to start school, and in a few hours we will be taking him over for his first morning of Junior Kindergarten Four at one of the local Episcopal dayschools. It’s a bittersweet moment for me, so I thought I’d share some of my thoughts with you all.

  1. When did he get big enough to do this? I expect this is something I’ll be encountering over and over through the years…but there is a part of me that still thinks of him as my baby….
  2. Is he going to be able to handle the environment and stimulation? This is especially a concern for F as he overloads easily – but it’s also why we are sending him. He needs the opportunity to learn in a small and structured environment how to handle the things he finds difficult..
  3. How is Su going to handle having her big brother away five mornings a week? She revolves around him, and is lost when he’s gone for an hour or so. She needs to develop herself but during the time she’s learning to be more of her own person,how will she be?
  4. How am I going to get things done around here without F? There are so many things that he does and does well, that I don’t have to deal with beyond assigning the job and inspecting or giving a bit of assistance from time to time. Some of those things Su will be able to do, but many of them will fall back into my lap….
  5. What influences will F be exposed to and how will we need to encourage or counter them? Many of the children in his class will be much more influenced by TV and popular culture than he is…I’m praying for him to remember the things he has been taught and for things to roll off of him if they aren’t right.

    Otter one day and scholar the next!

  6. How will I need to adjust our schedule? I’ve been tweaking it for a few weeks now to arrange for his absence, needing to drop off and pick him up, but until we actually start I can’t do but so much tweaking….
  7. How will I keep stimulating his love of learning since most of his “schoolwork” is going to be too easy? He’s just about ready to start Rod and Staff Second Grade, but I’m not sure if he’ll have the stamina to work with me in the afternoon after being gone all morning…
  8. Will he make friends? I wouldn’t worry about this with W or Su, but F finds people hard to read, I’m praying for just one or two good friends his own age. Praying too for wisdom in encouraging his friendships.
  9. Will he stay healthy? We started our fall/winter vitamin regimen last week, but he’ll have more exposure to germs than he normally would since he’ll be around other people more….and whatever he brings home the rest of the children will undoubtedly get too….Praying for a healthy winter…
  10. Will I be a hovering Mama? I hope not, but I need grace and wisdom to know how much involvement to have in his friendships etc. Letting my firstborn go to someone else even for a few hours is hard. Praying for grace, grace, grace…

 

Linking over to Top Ten {Tuesday}

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One Response to Thoughts as F Starts School

  1. I love how you have thoroughly thought this out. I am concerned about many of the same things.

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