Results tagged “Kindergarten” from Momtourage: Blogger Knows Best

Yes, THAT The Artist's Way. You know the one. I did a group Artist's Way workshop almost a year ago now and it still resonates with me. However, once the structure of weekly meetings and reading assignments went away, so did my dedicated practice to the work Julia Cameron sets forth.

I can't believe my baby girl is turning 6 next week.  We had her birthday party yesterday and when it came time to sing Happy Birthday I got all verklempt.  I actually had to hold back the tears.  Suddenly, it hit me.  My baby isn't my baby anymore.  She's growing up faster than I ever imagined.   Enjoy them while you can 'cause before you know it: they don't want to sit on your lap anymore; don't want you to cuddle them; and would much rather walk in front of you than hold your hand.  Cherish your babies while you can and tell them you love them every day.

I don't know about you but I'm getting the feeling that America is like a junkie looking for it's last big fix before rehab in the new year.  Open bar!   It's like the fall of Rome.  To hell with reality and cost cutting, let's just have a big ole Holiday Party and forget our troubles...that seems to be the mentality in New York City.  However, my husband's company (forever making wise choices) literally gave their employees a choice this year:  big company wide holiday party or bonus.  Thank goodness they chose the bonus.  His department will still have their much looked forward too gathering (pot luck style).  After the news last night that the senate did not pass the bail out for the auto industry, I wonder if all those big financial firms down town will still be having their holiday parties...hopefully they'll be byob this year.  Lily's Kindergarten class is still having the prerequisite cupcake party.....now that I can afford.  Is your company still having a holiday party?  If so, what changes have been made to it?  Now just be thankful you still have a job.

Diana Ross has nothing on our 5 year old Lily.  Last year, we went through three costumes in one day:  dragon; bunny; and finally a mime.  This year, she went to school as a mouse but will trick or treat later on as a ghost.  Here's costume number one:

Our daughter Lily is 5 years old and born late in the year... December 22nd to be exact.  She was promoted from Kindergarten to first Grade this year... much to my dismay, despite my begging and pleading. However, the New York City Public School system, in it's infinite wisdom, states that everyone born in 2002 regardless of month is in first grade this year no exceptions...nothing like taking the individual into account. You vill go to first grade und you vill like it!

Lily may be spending most of her time crying in first grade but she is reading too.  I must admit, despite my frequent complaints of too much homework, that she learned a great deal in Kindergarten.  By the time she graduated, (I know sounds funny doesn't it? but Kindergarten is a big milestone and deserves celebration when completed) she was just a few steps shy of reading.  Now, she's reading like a champ.  I'm so proud of her.  I love this picture because she reminds me of the commuters who read on the trains....only I don't remember seeing too many of them reading the Scholastic Weekly Reader.  Maybe that's the problem.  They were usually reading something much simpler....like The Post or the Daily News.

A little girl comes home from her first day of school.  Her mother asks, "What did you learn today?"   The little girl replies, "Not enough. I have to go back tomorrow."

Lily, our five year old, is having trouble adjusting to the 'independent work' of first grade.  She's bright and is operating at grade level but is breaking down (and having trouble pulling it back together again) when she makes a mistake, misses a direction, or something else equally as minor.  She also needs a little prompting to keep up.  However, this is not unusual nor alarming....at least for me.  We just keep reassuring her of her intelligence and ability.  We are her support group...and the meetings are daily not weekly.

5 days and counting. Sam starts Kindergarden on Tuesday and since the last day of Nursery in May it has been a roller-coaster of emotions for him (not wanting to leave his buddies to being excited about his new school), but mostly it's been up and down, left and right for me. And therein lies the tricky part, there is nothing I hate more than being a cliche.

Lily graduated from Kindergarten on Tuesday.  It was a lovely ceremony.  They sang songs that all contained a graduation theme or the lyrics were altered to suit the occassion like instead of the Marine Corp march, "I don't know, but I've been told...."  they sang "Kindergarten is all done first grade here we come".  It was just precious.   I found myself weeping often during the ceremony, I was quiet about it I didn't make a scene, but I was quite emotional....so were other mothers too.

It's sad to think Lily's baby days are really just a memory now.  She looked so grown up on that stage until she started picking her nose.  She brought the house down when they handed her her certificate of completion.  She turned to the audience and did a deep bow and waved to the crowd like she was on American Idol, it was very 'vote for me'.....and she's never even seen that show.  It's easy to see Lily comes from a show biz family.

We're faced with an educational dilemma here in Brooklyn. Lily, our five year old whose birthday is December 22nd, is having trouble keeping up in Kindergarten. Believe it or not, they're only 5, 6 at the most, and they're doing fractions this week! Lily, like most kids her age has trouble paying attention so fractions are really a joke to her and she's the youngest in her class so she has 'maturation issues' already. I even tried to make the fractions homework fun last night: if you have one booger and you cut it in two that makes two halves of a booger. You see maturation issues run in the family.

Now fractions to me, are first grade level work. Even Lily's teachers agree the standards of the state educational board that decides on curricula are not age appropriate. But make no mistake, many, many schools are pushing our children to learn earlier and earlier. New York State isn't alone in this. On a lighter note, I believe in a life of lowered expectations and standards. And that we should start disappointing our children now if we're really going to prepare them for the world.