Kindergarten Baby

I'm going to be the mother of a Kindergartner in less than a month!! Where, oh where, did the time go?

Caitlin starts full-day (we have to pay a small monthly amount for this privilege) Kindergarten in less than a month, August 5th to be exact. She will be attending Global Village Academy, a public charter school. We chose not to send her to the public school because it is in a bad neighborhood (even Ben got the heebie jeebies) and overcrowded. At Global Village, she will benefit from a bilingual (Spanish) program and smaller classrooms. This school is pretty new (2nd year) so we are hoping that everything goes smoothly.

We have been busy trying to get everything that Caitlin will need for school. Gone are the days of sending your child dressed in Sunday best with a pencil, slate and an apple for the teacher. We have a double-sided list for the classroom and an additional long and very specific list for art class. All I have to say is, my kid better be making some gallery quality artwork with those expensive brushes, oils and pastels! Caitlin also has to have uniforms to attend. Thankfully, they have patches so that we can sew them on to shirts, pants, jumpers, skorts and other items that we purchase (within the schools approved colors and styles, of course) rather than having to buy all of their special-made clothing. I mean, wouldn't you rather risk pricking your finger with a needle to sew a $3 patch onto a $8 shirt than buy a $18 shirt? Frugal-ness is the name of the game around here. Grandma is looking forward to helping Caitlin with her school supply shopping and hopefully, helping Caitlin's mom with the patch sewing!

One of the requirements for attending Global Village is that every family must volunteer 30 hours a year to help the school. I have found a couple of opportunities already and the rest, I'll have to juggle with a terrible two year old in tow. This could be interesting, to say the least.

We will see how this year goes. I'm hoping that Caitlin loves it and will want to go back for 1st grade. If not, we do have another option. Originally, we wanted Caitlin to go here and thought we were in but, do some some miscommunication, we lost our spot and were relegated to the lottery. Needless to say, our name has not been chosen. So, Global Village was our second choice, but a strong second. I had the opportunity to talk with another GVA parent at WalMart a few days ago and she said that both she & her daughter loved the school, despite it being brand new, and were returning this year. So, this gives me hope.

As we prepare to send our baby off to school, I have mixed feelings. I know that Caitlin is ready for school and that she will do wonderfully, but I am going to miss having her bubbly persona around during the day. I want her to learn, grow and make new friends but, I also don't want her to grow up too much. I'm sure I'll be one of those moms who shed tears privately in the car, after their child is safely out of sight then shouts hallelujah!