I must admit it: I have a bad attitude. Although I attempt to be enthusiastic about my child’s upcoming educational career, I grieve the end of our close relationship. Yes, I work outside the home, but I am home with my daughter a fair bit as I only work part time during the day. We have adventures, we sleep in upon occasion, we go to fun classes, and our days are pretty much our own. This is the luxury of having a preschooler, and an only child at that. It’s a joy to be with my daughter, and I really don’t want to see these open days end.
I am not against learning. I love to learn and often try to learn far too many things and far too quickly. I am so over-enthusiastic about learning that my enthusiasm often wins out over detail, and I end up with craft projects half-finished or not-so-attractive. I’m wildly enthusiastic about my learning and my child’s learning.
My daughter is a quieter sort, although she has been known to blow her top upon occasion. She is enthusiastic, but it is in an everyday sort of way. She wants to keep on playing, keep on riding her bike, keep on hiding in the berry bushes playing whatever game she is playing. She is learning all of the time, but it’s not book learning. Somehow, she has managed to learn her numbers and most of her letters, and we speak French some of the time. She certainly has an excellent vocabulary. I blame myself for that one, me and my constant chatter. She has learned a lot in her stint on this earth.
So why the reluctance about taking the plunge towards kindergarten? I only have one child, and we get along well. We enjoy each others’ company and we learn things together. Things seem to be going really well most of the time. I just don’t see the need to place her in school all day as of the fall, where she will be away from her family in an unfamiliar environment, mostly indoors, learning things that she may not be excited about. I want to eke out a little more time for her to be a kid: carefree, playing outside, playing pretend, connecting with her family, and learning through doing.
Are these typical kindergarten parent jitters? Oh, probably. It’s just that I’m tempted to do something about them.