Maple Leaf Mommy

A Canadian Mom's Life: Family, Food & Fun

  • Home
  • Mom Life
    • Just My Life
    • From House to Home
    • Motherhood Confessions
    • Tips, Tricks & Hacks
    • Quotes & Inspiration
  • Family
    • Parenting
    • Family Travel
    • Raising Strong Girls
    • Sandwich Generation
    • Silly Kids
  • Food
    • Cooking with Kids
    • Recipes
  • Fun
    • Activities & Fun Stuff
    • Toys That Don’t Suck
    • We Love Books
    • Time Travel
  • About
    • About Me
    • Disclosure & Privacy Policy
    • Contact Me
You are here: Home / Mom Life / Motherhood Confessions / The Kindergarten Question – Resolved?

The Kindergarten Question – Resolved?

September 6, 2011 by Deanna Tousignant Leave a Comment

So here I am, sitting up until 1:30 in the morning, pre-filling out the Junior Kindergarten registration forms so that tomorrow morning I can take my daughter to register at the local French Immersion school.  We called to arrange a visit last Friday, and dropped in for a quick peek. We wanted to register on the spot, but were told to come back on Tuesday. I wish it were already done with, then I wouldn’t be sitting her still worrying if I am making the right decision. It’s difficult. My girl is blessed to have two loving parents in her life, who both want what is best for her. My husband believes putting her in Junior Kindergarten is the best choice for her. I have my doubts, but it is not just my decision, but his as well. And hers?  Well, she wants to go more then anything.

I want her to take French Immersion, and I want to keep her home until Senior Kindergarten.  On the other hand my husband was leaning towards public school, and wants her to start in Junior Kindergarten.  He has his doubts about French Immersion. He is concerned that that her English won’t develop as well, that we, as her parents, will need to learn French as well, that we won’t be able to help her with her homework. The compromise? French Immersion, and starting in J.K.  I feel like as least now she will be learning something other then “socialization skills”. Also, after having visited each of them, my husband and I both agreed that we liked the French school better. Still I wonder if I am making the right choice, and tonight, while it still seems revocable, I feel small and sad.

So I go back and I read the replies you folks made on my previous Kindergarten post, and I take comfort in your comments.

I know several of you suggested that I could pull her out, after she starts, if it didn’t seem to be working out.  But I just can’t see doing that. She wants this so badly.  If I let her start school, and then later pulled her out I think she would be crushed. Things would have to go hellaciously wrong before I could consider this as a serious option.

As much as I wish that Junior Kindergarten were still a half-day program, and I feel quite strongly about this, I also feel that having her attend for only half the day is not the answer.  She would miss out on things her class-mates would be doing, and she would be marked as different, for having to go home after only half a day.  As well, while the school does have to honour your request to have your child attend only half a day, I don’t believe they need to provide bus transportation. Which means unless I have a way to pick her up, she needs to be there all day.

I agree with the argument that children can learn socialization skills without attending public school.  However, we are not currently part of any regular play groups, Sunday schools, etc. I definitely feel that if I were to keep her home I would need to make more of an effort to get her out more regularly to the public library, the early years centre, play groups, something.  And to be honest, I’m not sure this is something I would follow through on, because I don’t like people, and I like staying at home. There, I admitted it. Maybe my kiddo isn’t the only one that needs to work on social skills.

She will be going on the bus, so she will be at the school all day and take a lunch.  This should actually work out better then having her walk home for lunch hour.  Though I do so hope that she will focus and actually eat.  As I’ve mentioned before my girl is easily distracted and eats at a snail’s pace.  I still have concerns as to how much she will end up consuming within the relatively short lunch time period.

Cranky preschooler.
Nap-free Rainbow.
Catchphrases include:
No, I won’t.
I don’t wanna.
and
Excuse me while I bounce off the walls.
As far as the nap situation, we tried several nap free days in a row and it was hell. This child needs a nap.  When she doesn’t get a nap, she doesn’t get run-down, or sleepy. Rather, she gets grumpy, belligerent, and extremely hyper-active. In short, she turns into a horrid monster, and I wonder where my daughter has disappeared to. This doesn’t tend to hit until later in the day, like say 4 or 5pm, so it is unlikely to be an issue while she is still at school. Just something fun we get to deal with at home.
The program we are enrolling her in is full day every other day, which means Tuesday, Thursday and every other Friday. Originally I thought we might do better going cold-turkey, and foregoing naps altogether.  After trying a five day test run, I am now certain that for now she definitely still needs naps on the days when there isn’t school.

I know in my heart that she will love it, and that she will thrive, or I wouldn’t even consider sending her. I am still ridiculously nervous about going to register tomorrow. Silly, I know. I am eager to find out when and where the bus drop will be, so we can start to try and figure out a schedule. Kindergarten classes don’t start until next week, so she should be starting on the 13th. I guess I’ll probably be a nervous wreck until after that.  Wish me luck guys.

Related Posts

Diaper Time Woes – Or how to change a screaming octopus?
Star Wars Quotes applied to Parenting
Self-Led Weaning with my 2-year old Rainbow…

Filed Under: Motherhood Confessions, Parenting Tagged With: kindergarten, motherhood, Rainbow

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Maple Leaf Mommy SocialMaple Leaf Mommy on FacebookMaple Leaf Mommy on TwitterMaple Leaf Mommy on PinterestMaple Leaf Mommy on InstagramSubscribe to Maple Leaf Mommy's RSS FeedEmail Maple Leaf MommyImage Map

Welcome

Hi, I'm Deanna, a Canadian mom with two young girls, who loves to share our adventures through the everyday.

    Click here to discover more ABOUT ME.
    Click here to sign up for my LETTERS LIST.

SEARCH THIS SITE

My Current Giveaways

For more open to Canada giveaways check out the Great Canadian Giveaway Link-Up Updates weekly.

Brought to You By…

Moms buy baby clothes on DHgate

Timbuktu Labs

A Few Favourites

* Postpartum Depression in the 1950s

* Life Lessons, Kayaking with the Dolphins

* My Life as a Sandwich

* My Kid Has Special Needs, Maybe, Sorta

* Build Your Own Sushi, for Kids

* Four Secret Rules to Make Perfect Nachos

* Being Difficult, A Birth Story

* Pinterest Perfect Mom
(published in Canadian Family)


Copyright © 2010 - 2021 · Maple Leaf Mommy · All Rights Reserved
Disclosure & Privacy Policy · Contact for Data Inquires

Maple Leaf Mommy on FacebookMaple Leaf Mommy on TwitterMaple Leaf Mommy on PinterestMaple Leaf Mommy on InstagramRSS Feed for Maple Leaf MommyEmail Maple Leaf MommyImage Map

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on MapleLeafMommy.com. We collect anonymous data to improve Maple Leaf Mommy for your enjoyment. Your privacy matters to us!Okay, I'll allow it.NoPrivacy Policy
Revoke Cookies