Change

Transition

Ryan goes to school in 2 days.  More like 1 day.  I am in NO WAY prepared for him to go. 

I still have one or two items I have to go get to complete the requested list from the school.

I still have so many unanswered questions. 

Ones from the simple….What do I pack in his lunch?

To the complex……Will he hold tight to the truth we have tried to teach him?

Yes.  I do realize this is only Kindergarten.  But it’s such a HUGE change.

Do you know that they start at 7:30 AM???  That’s earlier than my high school/college classes ever started.  Are they crazy?!

Seriously.

Ryan’s bus arrives at 6:54 AM, and he needs to be at the bus stop 5 minutes prior.  The good thing is the bus stop is at the corner directly across from our driveway.

I have NEVER been a morning person.  For me to get up by 7 AM is a big accomplishment.  And that has worked for the most part for us.  I can feed Blaine, have some quiet time, maybe read a chapter from my Bible, sometimes even shower before I go get the other boys for breakfast.  They’re normally pretty good about playing upstairs first thing in the morning until I call them for breakfast.  After breakfast the boys will go get dressed and do a few simple chores while I clean up the dishes, get dressed.  Shortly thereafter, we will try and sit down and do our morning devotion together.

What am I going to do now though?  I need to be up by 6 and have Ryan up by 6:15 at the latest so he has time to eat and get dressed.  Tim’s alarm normally goes off around 5:20 AM for PT.  Should I just get up then?!  I don’t think I’d make it through the day!  My husband is a great man for being able to get up that early and go all day.  I tend to need more sleep than him though.

Do I do the devotion with Ryan by himself before he leaves and then later with Colin? 

Then there’s the sleeping situation.  All three boys sleep in the same room.  It’s worked out great for the most part.  Ryan sleeps in the top bunk bed and I’m not sure how I’m going to wake him up without waking up the others. 

Do we need to move Ryan to the other room?

Maybe I should just go ahead and wake the others at 6 AM?

Crazy you say…but I’m thinking that when bed time comes around I don’t want to be putting Ryan to bed at 7:30 because he has to get up early and then the other two to bed at 8:30.  That’s at least two hours of baths/bedtime routines.  Then come 9 PM I know I’m going to be exhausted and ready for bed which leaves little to no time for me and Tim.  So this idea is sounding appealing to me.  Also, this way we can still do our morning devotion together before Ryan leaves.

The decision to enroll Ryan in public school was difficult.  It kind of snuck up on us.  I think we were enjoying having Tim home and traveling that when we got back we didn’t realize we were so close to school starting.  We probably would have been completely oblivious to it unless my friend asked me about it one day.  Also,  I think we were both expecting to have received Tim’s orders for his new assignment before we would have to make any big decisions.  (Still waiting on those by the way.)  We discussed it off and on for a few weeks.  Then in the Sunday paper was a section on school enrollment the following week.  There were a few nights in a row where we stayed up late talking about it.  Discussing the pros and cons.  We were both on the fence.  I think I prayed continuously those few days for direction.  One of the big deciding factors though was the fact that Tim and I were both confident that a move was in our future within the next few months.  Whether that be to a different duty station or just to the next town over where our church and friends are.  We both knew that if we did move I would be spending a lot of time cleaning/organizing the house before and after the move and would be distracted in teaching Ryan.  The best thing is knowing that it is a decision that can always be changed.  We can revaluate throughout the year, especially at semester’s end, and decide if this is what is best for Ryan.

I think one of the hardest things for me in this transition is the lack of information we have received.  When I went to enroll him, and when we went to meet the teacher night, it seemed like it was expected that we had done this before.  That we should know where to go and how it all works.

I felt like I should have worn a sign that read “Help!  First time around!”.  I’m not sure that would have gotten all my questions answered though.   I think it hit me first when I left from registration and was driving home and I didn’t even know what time school started. 

No one gave me that information. 

They told me what time he should be at the bus stop, but some kids can ride the bus for an hour before school actually starts.  I probably filled out 15 pages of repetitive information at registration and I walked out with 2 pages. 

1.        What time he would be picked up and dropped off from the bus.
2.       His school supply/dresscode list.

Really?!  That’s it! 

It’s sad to think that now-a-days that’s all that most parents want.  They probably don’t ask for more.

So I went home and did some research on the school he was assigned to on the internet.  Some info, but not specifics.  I was praying that we would get more answers during Meet the Teacher night.  I got a few but not nearly enough to satisfy.

I just find it hard to believe that they just expect a 5 year old (sometimes younger if they attend the pre-K program) to just hop on the bus the first day, get off, and go to class without really being walked through the process.  No wonder half of them are scared.  Ryan isn’t of course.  He’s super excited.  I think I’ve got the scared angle covered for him.

Why can’t they do a dry run through with the parent’s allowed?  Ryan’s never been on a bus before.  Wouldn’t it be exciting to be able to go on it with him and show him what it’s like?!  To go to the school more than once before the “big day” and to know how to get from the bus to your class room.

We were told where the busses will drop him off, but we didn’t get to see.   We didn’t get to walk that route. 

I know there will be teachers there to help and to guide.  Speaking of though… how is a teacher /authority of the school “marked” so that Ryan will know who to ask for help?  How is he to distinguish a “trustworthy” adult, from a possible “stranger”.

I’ll probably have to send him with a note card the first day with his grade and teacher’s name on it. 

Which by the way I THINK is Mrs. Hall.  Possibly Hill.  Again…nothing given to us with that information.  Or with a way to contact her if we have questions/concerns.

I don’t even have the school’s phone number come to think of it!  Ack! 

If we are ever doing something new, or even routine, I always try to explain it to the boys ahead of time and give them a list of expectations so there are few surprises.  In this situation I have been given very little information to share with Ryan.

We weren’t given any information on visiting either.  Probably because very few parents do.  I plan to eat lunch with him on occasion.  Go observe him in class.  What type of security do I have to go through?

I asked the teacher if she had a copy of their daily schedule.  It was five days prior to school starting (and she’s been teaching for 20 years). 

Nope.
No schedule. 

Maybe I don’t quite understand how it all works, and maybe a lot of parents aren’t concerned with what their kid does all day.  I’m not asking for specific lessons plans (yet), just a general idea of how his time will be spent while he’s there.

There are tons of things I wish I could “prep” Ryan with.  IE: Rules on the bus.  What you’ll be doing all day. 

He’s a smart boy and I’m sure he will figure it out and catch on quick but I normally don’t send him into a situation this big, this underprepared.

They have orientations when you get to high school and one for parents as well when you go to college.  I wish they would have had one for first time parent of a Kindergartner.  Or even for all the families just moving to the area.

Tim has shared in my frustration with the lack of information we’ve received, but he’s much better at going with the flow than I am.  I’m the planner. 

Get passed all the basic concerns and you uncover a whole other level.

He will be spending a majority of his waking hours away from us. 

I pray that our level of influence in his heart and life will remain strong, but what amount of influence will we lose?

In reference to public school with one of my friends I shared one of my fears..”He’ll be going to school with a bunch of heathens.”  (Yes.   That’s what I said.) 

It’s not really the fact that he will be going to school with those who don’t know Christ.  It’s a huge mission field.  But is he ready to confront that?  Have Tim and I prepared/trained him efficiently? He has not yet made a profession of faith.  How will this affect his attitude to the situations that will occur around him?

Yes.  Again, I do realize this is just Kindergarten. 

And I know Tim and my job as parents to teach/equip him is not over, but the time we have to do it in is about to change drastically.

I am SO thankful for the work of the teachers to teach our children some of the basics, but what about their character?

How much character training will slip through the cracks?

How much communication will be lost? 

Will he be loved?  Cherished?


There are SO many unknowns. 
So many what ifs. 

I have already found myself praying harder.

To protect him.  To guide him.  To remind him.  To secure him.  To save him!

Through this process though I think I’m already learning the importance of praying for my children with severe sincerity.  To battle for their hearts and minds.

I expect to shed many tears over the next few days.