Major Milestone Moment

I registered Sofia for kindergarten today! She will start kindergarten in the fall. This is another parenting bittersweet moment. I am so excited that my baby will be starting kindergarten and embarking on her primary education, but saddened that she really is not a baby anymore. It is hard not to be motivated by the decrease in childcare costs as well!

I do wonder how she will do in kindergarten. Sofia has a marvelous loving and joyful spirit. She is sweet and kind and creative. Alas, she is also full of energy and seems to have some focusing issues. She wants to focus on what she wants to when she wants to! I worry that this may be difficult for a kindergarten teacher to handle. She has been known to climb the shelving or the door frames during preschool. Luckily, her preschool just started her spending the morning in the kindergarten class and she seems to be doing well. During this years daily pickups from preschool, I have spent most days arriving with the fear of catching her teacher’s gaze only to find that sad little exasperated head shack, “Rough day today,” or “She did not have her listening ears on today.”

However, since she started half-day kindergarten, I have been noticing more days of, “She had a good day today mom!” or “Come look at her work it is amazing!” She can write her first name in cursive and she is reading books with one-syllable words! I think I am actually looking forward to kindergarten in the fall!

Life with the Strong-Willed Child

I realized this week that I only have one major thought when picking up Sofia from day-care. Sadly, it is not, "I can't wait to see my darling," or "What wonderful thing did my angel do today?' Instead, it is, "Okay what kind of trouble did she have today and will the teacher look at me with that look and sad nod?" I haven't felt this way in a while. I did feel this way when she went to Pinecrest during the toileting troubles. I eventually realized that Pinecrest had unrealistic rules about toilet-training and crappy teachers who were vilifying me and my child. We moved Sofia to her current placement and overall, we have both been happier.

However, I find those stressful thoughts and feelings returning and I am unsure what to do. Basically, Sofia is now 4. They expect her to listen and follow directions. Sofia does not agree. She would rather do what she wants to do. I don't blame her. It seems to me that most 4-year-olds would want to do that. However, how come it seems like the other children don't seem to have the same problems? A part of me feels like the world has unrealistic expectations for all children due to pressure to educate. Am I the unrealistic one?

Sofia does not have any problems academically. I hear she helps her peers most days. Unfortunately, she does like to climb the bookshelves or the fences. I am just not sure what to do. I want to believe she will mature and grow out of this. I think I struggle with this because I never had problems like this as a child. I was afraid to disobey. I was a follower not a leader. I kind of want Sofia to be a leader and I admire her strength and obstinence. BUT, I am tired of feeling condemnation by teachers. Not enough to really want Sofia to change however.