Questioning my "Kindergarten Readiness"

Will heads to kindergarten this fall. He's ready and I thought I was sufficiently prepared emotionally. He's excited about riding the bus (me....not so much) and wearing a uniform like he sees all the neighbors doing. I keep reminding myself that this is a natural progression and I need to begin letting go a little. I remember having the same feelings when he started in his 3-year old class at preschool. I was so used to being with him all day, knowing what toys he played with and picking which friends he hung out with. Now preschool threw a loop in everything and there were all these unknowns. We both adjusted, though. I learned not to bombard Will with all my questions as soon as I picked him up from school. Will learned to save the details of his day until bedtime as a way of stalling before "lights out". Preschool's been wonderful for Will, he's learned so much both socially and academically. His teachers assure me that he's "so ready" for kindergarten. One part of me is embracing kindergarten so that his learning can continue. But the other part of me just wants to keep him with me just a little longer.

This week Will's in skating summer camp. I signed him up for half days thinking that it would be similar to his preschool routine and we could still do things together in the afternoons. When I picked him up at 12:30pm on Monday, he bawled. The majority of the other kids (except for him and 1 other) were doing full day camp. Will would miss out on the after lunch movie, a second skating session and a craft. He told me how unfair it was and how his was a big kid and why couldn't he stay like all the others. So, we had a family discussion over supper that night and decided we'd give full day camp a try. Tuesday he had a blast and was so pooped that he fell asleep on the drive home. Today it was great too, and he even stayed awake on the ride home. I reminded him over and over how much I missed him but I was glad that he was loving camp so much. Then came the dagger to my heart....we pull into the driveway and the first thing he says..."Mum, can I play outside with Derek?" Yup, a whole day without his Mum and all he wants to do is play outside with the neighbors. Still moping, I pulled out my lawn chair and sat at the end of the driveway watching Will and Alex play with the neighbors and thought to myself "Nic, this is the start of many years to come...hold on, it's going to be a emotional ride."