ready, set, kindergarten!

I've been thinking a lot about the decision we made to keep McKay home another year.  I am really glad I had one last year of keeping all three of the kids home with me. McKay had an excellant year of preschool and learned and grew and had a lot of fun, and it felt right when we were home together.

Now that he started kindergarten today, that year is even more precious to me.  I wonder if I did enough with him at home.  Did I teach him enough?  Did I prepare him for school?  Did I take advantage of the fact that it was the last time that I had control over what influenced him?  Did I give him enough of my time and attention?  No, probably no to all of those.  I could always do more.  But the point is, I'm grateful that we were there together.  I am not a mom who pushes academics at home.  We do it if they're interested and if it's fun, but most of the time my kids would much rather play pretend or go outside or help me cook or, lets be honest here, watch a movie, instead of memorize things.  I'm happy that I have so many memories of those things this last year.

That's not to say I'm not ready for him to start school now.  I am so ready!  He is so excited!  This summer got me really, really ready.  Did it sill break my heart a little bit to let him go?  Yes.  Knowing that he's now in the real school system at an actual elementary school makes me want to cry and wrap him up in a blanket and make him snuggle me for the rest of his life.  But this kid has been waiting a whole year to be a kindergartner and there is no stopping him.  I'm certainly not going to.