Kindergarten

After a summer of fun at Camp Sisol, it was time for some big changes for Parker, who started Kindergarten.  In New York, children have to be 5 before December 1st to attend Kindergarten.  So Parker will be one of the young kids in her class her whole life, but we were assured by her Pre-K teachers who said she was so ready to start.  (Many parents hold their kids with late birthdays back a year.)

In our school district of Pittsford, it is still half-day Kindergarten.  They have been doing studies and drumming up support to switch to full day, so hopefully that will happen by the time Graham goes.  We signed Parker up for the AM class, so that she could ride the bus from home in the morning.  The program we got her into for the afternoon is a Kindergarten Wrap at the YMCA.  In April, Greg went and stood in line to secure one of the 18 spots.  We knew from our good friends, the Nudds, and others that it was in high demand, so Greg arrived at 1:45 am.  That's right!  He stood in line from 1:45 am until the doors opened at 5:00 am and got one of the last spots!  

The JCC has a wrap program also, but our school district does not bus there.  So the schedule was set...The bus picks Parker up at the corner down the street from our house at 8:01.  She attends Kindergarten at Allen Creek Elementary from 8:30-11:20.  Then she rides she "short bus" with a couple other drop-offs before hers and arrives at the Y at 11:47.

The Kindergarten teacher is Mrs. Lusk and it turns out she lives in our neighborhood!  There is one other child in her AM class who lives in our neighborhood, Zac, and Parker has become very good buddies with him.  They have a lot going on in that short amount of time:  including 4-5 field trips a year, music class, library, computer class, and P.E. 

The Y teacher is Miss Heather.  Ben Nudds, along with another boy from the JCC, Devon, are both in Parker's group.  The program is great because it does provide some structure and learning, in addition to the play time.  Parker's favorite is going across the hall to the Adventure Center (with climbing and active play).  They also bring the kids to swim every Tuesday and Thursday.  Plus, we can sign her up for any of the Y programs in the afternoon and they will walk her over to it.

So, we had a lot to be excited about!  Parker was used to riding the bus all summer to camp.  She was used to being in school and away from us all day (since age 4 months).  We expected a smooth transition.

Here are the pictures of the morning before boarding the bus:

We walked down to the corner, along with the two other little girls (1st and 2nd grade) and their families, to wait for the bus.  Papa G came to watch the big event.  Our neighbor, Bonnie, even walked down the street.  When the bus came, Parker lost it and would not get on.  I was shocked and totally unprepared for that reaction.  We had to physically put her on the bus and let her drive away crying.  Very hard crying.  It was not good.

The morning passed and while I was pretty certain the rest of her day was going fine.  However, for piece of mind I drove to the Y at lunch time and parked so that she couldn't see me and watched her get off the bus.  She looked normal and happy and I was relieved to see she made it to the right place!

 
The next day getting on the bus was a piece of cake and it has been every day since then!  Phew!  It is a little difficult getting good information from Parker about her day but sometimes we hear some good stories.  She seems to be loving her teachers and is making new friends.