D has his first kindergarten field trip (to the zoo) coming up this Friday. Lots of moms are going as chaperones. I signed up to go, but D is adamant that he does. not. want. me. there. I'm not mortally offended. I know that this is "his thing", his chance to be a really big kid all on his own. Look at it this way, I don't have to find a babysitter!
D has only somewhat tolerated the fact that I walk him to school. School is only a block away, but he has to cross a busy street, and I don't trust his judgment. I have seen how impulsive he can be. Lately I have loosened the reins a bit. I walk him about a third of the way, and then I watch as he makes it to where the crossing guard will help him across the street. Even then, I stand and watch until he is safely across the road. It is fun to stand back and see his enthusiasm about going to school--he literally RUNS all the way, like he can't wait to get there. (Or maybe it's that he is trying to escape me.)
Yesterday I had some business to take care of at school, so I needed to walk into the building with him. He accepted this, but his demeanor showed that it was SO not cool to be walked to school by your mom. He stayed a few steps behind me (no running this time) and held his head down the entire way. It must have been quite the scene, because an older little girl actually stopped and asked me if this was his first day of school!
It's bittersweet to see my baby growing up and becoming independent.
We've come a long way.
When I took him in for his initial kindergarten assessment, he wouldn't even get off my lap. He wouldn't even look at his teacher. He started off not answering any of her questions; when he finally did answer, it was in a tiny whisper. I wondered if he would go to kindergarten at all!
Last summer D went through a phase of extreme separation anxiety. To this day, I do not know what precipitated it. He had been through an entire year of preschool with no problems. But suddenly everything changed. If I went upstairs, he would search through the house calling me, even to the point of tears. He lectured me many times on the importance of letting him know if I left the room, because he didn't know where I was and he might think I went to the store or something without him. One day, I went outside to water the plants and he flipped. I found him inside in hysterics, sobbing because he didn't know where I was. Another day he thought it would be funny to hide from me. After searching the house, I went to the neighbors, thinking he had snuck out to play with a friend without permission. When I returned home after finding that he was not at his friend's, he had come out of his hiding spot and, once again, was completely hysterical because he had not known where I was.
I wish I could say I was always patient and understanding about having a little shadow. I wasn't. But like all phases, it passed. And now, I have a big kindergartener who does not want me shadowing him on his first field trip--his first chance to ride in a big, yellow bus.
Yep, we've come a long way!
D has only somewhat tolerated the fact that I walk him to school. School is only a block away, but he has to cross a busy street, and I don't trust his judgment. I have seen how impulsive he can be. Lately I have loosened the reins a bit. I walk him about a third of the way, and then I watch as he makes it to where the crossing guard will help him across the street. Even then, I stand and watch until he is safely across the road. It is fun to stand back and see his enthusiasm about going to school--he literally RUNS all the way, like he can't wait to get there. (Or maybe it's that he is trying to escape me.)
Yesterday I had some business to take care of at school, so I needed to walk into the building with him. He accepted this, but his demeanor showed that it was SO not cool to be walked to school by your mom. He stayed a few steps behind me (no running this time) and held his head down the entire way. It must have been quite the scene, because an older little girl actually stopped and asked me if this was his first day of school!
It's bittersweet to see my baby growing up and becoming independent.
We've come a long way.
When I took him in for his initial kindergarten assessment, he wouldn't even get off my lap. He wouldn't even look at his teacher. He started off not answering any of her questions; when he finally did answer, it was in a tiny whisper. I wondered if he would go to kindergarten at all!
Last summer D went through a phase of extreme separation anxiety. To this day, I do not know what precipitated it. He had been through an entire year of preschool with no problems. But suddenly everything changed. If I went upstairs, he would search through the house calling me, even to the point of tears. He lectured me many times on the importance of letting him know if I left the room, because he didn't know where I was and he might think I went to the store or something without him. One day, I went outside to water the plants and he flipped. I found him inside in hysterics, sobbing because he didn't know where I was. Another day he thought it would be funny to hide from me. After searching the house, I went to the neighbors, thinking he had snuck out to play with a friend without permission. When I returned home after finding that he was not at his friend's, he had come out of his hiding spot and, once again, was completely hysterical because he had not known where I was.
I wish I could say I was always patient and understanding about having a little shadow. I wasn't. But like all phases, it passed. And now, I have a big kindergartener who does not want me shadowing him on his first field trip--his first chance to ride in a big, yellow bus.
Yep, we've come a long way!
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