The Big K

It's finally here...KINDERGARTEN!!! Oh my goodness! Seriously, where did the time go? Jaxon is on his way to elementary school where he'll show his school spirit as a Mustang, and I think he's 90% excited about it. Of course, there are a lot of unknowns. So, logically, Jax is a little nervous too. Can't say I blame him, really. I'm a little worried too! Although, I'm not sure why. Our school district is #1 in the state, and Jax's new school has always been awarded "A" status.

Luckily, last week's orientation session was exactly what we needed to help settle our nerves. Jax met his new teacher, Mrs. P, and she seems very nice and PATIENT! More than one parent stopped us in the hallway to tell us how lucky we were to have been assigned to Mrs. P's classroom. To quote one mom, "Mrs. P is the perfect combination of fun and learning." I guess that's a good thing, right? Honestly, I was already feeling at ease even before hearing Mrs. P's rave reviews from the other parents because I had already checked out Jax's future classmates, and they all seem like sharp kids. I'm not saying Jax is in the advanced class, but he clearly didn't fail the assessment last Spring either! Plus, after Anh's head count, we determined that there will only be 17 children in the class. Yay for small class sizes!

While I was feeling better after meeting Jax's teacher and seeing the classroom, Jax was rejoicing over the fact that he already knows two of the boys in his class. One is a buddy from preschool, and the second is a friend from golf camp. I have no idea why Jax, the social butterfly, is so worried about making friends, but he is, and seeing these two boys in his classroom put Jax immediately at ease.

Anh and I learned that the Kindergarten teachers have orchestrated a staggered start for the first week where only five children from each class will report each day Monday through Thursday, and then, the entire class will start the school year together this Friday. I assume this allows the teacher to spend more time with each individual student to welcome them and get to know their personalities. I love the idea, personally. Jaxon's first day will be Thursday, and one of his buddies will also be in the group of five. So, the two of them will enter this brave new world together. I trust they'll watch each other's backs.

Before making our way back to the car, we toured the big school bus that was parked in front of the school. Yet another first! While I'll likely take Jax to school on his first day, the plan is for him to ride the school bus every morning after since the bus stop is two doors down from our house. However, I will pick Jax up in the afternoon. At least, that's the plan. We'll see how everything plays out. I did hear some scary things about the wait involved for the parent pickup. Maybe the bus will prove to be the better option.

Getting back to that whole "Where did the time go?" line of thinking, wasn't I just sharing the news that this little guy was starting preschool at age 2? What happened? That little boy is all grown up and starting a new chapter of his life! Hold on to your hats, Folks! We're all in for a wild & crazy ride! This ain't preschool anymore!