Friday, January 23, 2009

A milestone

Last night, we registered R for kindergarten. I've had mixed feelings about this milestone in R's life, but after meeting the teachers and the principal and the school nurse and secretary at R's future school, I'm actually excited for him to enter kindergarten in the fall. I LOVED the teachers. They were kind and smart and very down-to-earth. And, we found out that our school has the smallest class sizes in our town. The kindergarten classes right now have only 17 and 18 students, versus the 22 average across the rest of town.

The school building is more than 50 years old and is slated eventually to be completely rebuilt (budget cuts have delayed it the last few years), but the teachers said that they had no complaints about the building. And, the classrooms in our school are actually much bigger than the classrooms at the newer-built schools in town. The kindergarten has its own wing with a common space for all the K classes to gather together for special events, and its own entrance.

The teachers gave us lots of information about preparing the kids for school (activities to help with reading, math, fine and gross motor skills, etc.), which was helpful and affirming for what we've already been doing with R. And, the student body is extremely diverse, which is something that's important to A and me. So, we were really pleased with everything. The school atmosphere feels very nurturing and cozy, and I think it will be a good place for R. Yay!

Now we have to investigate the after-school care options. Apparently, the after-school programs fill up fast, so we've got to be ready with our applications as soon as registration opens.

8 comments:

sandwhichisthere said...

Sweetheart,
when do Rix's classes start?
daddy

Kristen said...

Dad-- Classes start the Monday after Labor Day. And the day starts at 8:10. So we've got 8 mpnths to go!

trace said...

We took our oldest to an overnight visit weekend at the college she'll be attending this fall...that was my milestone!

Enjoy all the new adventure brings - before you know it you'll be the one posting about college!

Happy new year.

Wanda said...

What a Milestone!! I remember when our started school. Harder on Mom that them.

You have prepared R in such a great way he will love school and do so well....

Wait till he brings home that first picture!!

Love and Hugs
Wanda

Anonymous said...

So happy that the school visit went so well! We know that R will love kindergarten, but it's nice to read how much you like the school, too! xoxo

Suztash said...

Hi Sweets,
Will you go with him the first day? I seem to remember the bus ride to kindergarten on your first day. I'm sure he's going to just breeze through. He's been prepping for his school days for quite some time now and is such a social creature already. Love you all, Mom

Greg C said...

The interaction will do him good. Ask for references if you go with a private after school program. Good luck to you.

LEstes65 said...

Oh my goodness. R and Lil'Bro in Kinder. That's just nuts!!! I'm looking forward to those first day photos!