Kindergarten Round 2

When someone tells you that no two children are alike… they are speaking the truth!

My son is 5. He has been in preschool for two years. He knows all his ABCs, 123s, sight words, shapes, colors and he can write his little name beautifully. He can also tell you all about the solar system, planets, galaxies, nebulae, dwarf planets, the difference between revolution and rotation, gas giants and what Saturn’s rings are made of.

Before he starts kindergarten he has to go to the school and be “assessed”. He was nervous so I let him bring some of his cars with us on the way to the school. I thought he had left them in the car but apparently he had one in his pocket. While we were waiting in the library for them to take him back he was calm and playing with the car. I told him to put it in my pocketbook and I thought he had, but he had put it in his pocket. And by the time I realized he had it with him he was already out the door and headed down the hall.

Two hours later here he comes… all smiles… life is good. And as I am standing there one of the teachers comes over to me and asks me if I was his mother. I thought she was getting ready to tell me my child was a genius… why is he not in college at 5 years old?? Nope… she proceeds to reprimand me for allowing him to take a car with him because it was a distraction, he wouldn't listen or follow direction and we don’t allow them to bring toys to kindergarten. Before I could tell her that I know all this and it was an accident, she looks at him and tells him he cannot bring toys to school and he must leave his toys at home.

I am still standing there shocked that I didn't get a glowing report that my child was a reincarnated Einstein/ Carl Sagan when I heard him GROWL at this woman! He literally bared his teeth and growled at her when she told him he could not bring a toy to school. Instinctively I put my hand over his face and pull him behind me hoping she didn't realize that he actually growled at her and hoping even more that she didn't think he was going to bite her.  At that time I was able to tell her it was an accident and apologize for the distraction. I head out the door with him and I know he is mad. He says he wants to go home but I had to tell him that I had to go to work and he needed to go to his preschool. It was all downhill after that. He was really mad now. By the time we both got to preschool we were both in tears. His was because he was scared he was in trouble and he knew he had misbehaved. Mine because everything that should have gone smoothly and glowingly spiraled out of control and now these teachers think my son is a nutcase.

 Apparently all the prepping we have done to get him ready for the big change to kindergarten did not work out so well. I can only hope that he gets comfortable soon and returns to his normal self so they can see the real boy beyond the nervous child they saw today. I don’t know what they saw today… he went to 5 different teachers and it could have been that this one last teacher he was being tested with just didn't click with him. I hope my son isn't etched in her memory as the child that growled at her the first time she met him. I hope my son isn't the subject of her teaching horror stories later in life. I hope she doesn't write a book, and a lifetime movie isn't made and some famous kid doesn't represent my child growling at her… if so I want the names changed. I am sure all those teachers are in a room right now wondering who is going to draw the short straw and get that Barefoot boy. I could have created an entire comedy sitcom episode out of what happened this morning... but instead just let it be a small hilarious chapter in the book of my life.