Moving Up

Last night Michael, his mom and I went to his Kindergarten orientation.

It marks the start of his public school career; the point where he is added to the official rolls of a brick-and-mortar learning institution.

He is growing up.

He could have started Kindergarten last year. In fact, we had signed him up. But his mom and I decided that for his sake (and the sake of the other students) we’d keep him back just one more year to let him get fully socialized. We instead enrolled him in a private, in-home school that covers the gamut of preschool and pre-k learning. In essence, he’d be getting a Kindergarten education, but under much more concentrated scrutiny and nurture.

We figured we could make the decision at some point during this year as to whether we felt he was ready to move on to first grade, or whether he should start out in public Kindergarten.

We decided the latter. It was not an easy choice, but we think it’s the right one for Michael’s well being. He’s smart enough that in some future time he might be moved up a grade, so we hold out that possibility.

At the start of his orientation last night, we were introduced to the teachers, the principal, the parent volunteers, the school nurse, the administrative assistants and others who would be regulars in our child’s daily life.

Then, only ten minutes into the assembly, they called the children into two groups and ushered them out the door with the teachers to go see their classrooms.

We parents stayed behind and had time to hear the “grown-up” stuff.

But as Michael left, with not even a glance back over his shoulder, I couldn’t help but notice his mom’s eyes were just every so slightly welled up with tears. She was obviously feeling a mournful loss.

Her little boy isn’t so little any more.

As the evening progressed, we met with the nurse to go over Michael’s history of seizures and storage of his emergency medication. We met with the administrative assistants to talk about transportation and after school care. We met with the principal to introduce ourselves and suggest that we’d probably be seeing a lot of each other in the next few years.

Then we went back to the Kindergarten rooms to pick up the kids. Upon seeing us, Michael came out to loudly proclaim what he’d learned about Guinea Pigs, about how they think your fingers are carrots, and that they poop a lot.

He was having no problem getting used to a whole new school, a new class, new classmates, a new teacher, a new beginning.

He’s moving up, and it’s something that he’ll keep right on doing.

And it’s a good thing, even if it is a little sad.