THIS POST MIGHT CONTAIN AFFILIATE LINKS. MY DISCLOSURE POLICY GIVES YOU MORE DETAILS.
Just this week my daughter is starting kindergarten for the first time. Requisite first day of school photo right here, baby!
As a school principal, my day starts early and can end late. Since my daughter was born, I have relied on a cadre of wonderful babysitters to take care of the early morning and afterschool hours.
Some mornings that meant extracting myself from a toddler-turned-octopus to get out the door. Other times it meant a bad traffic accident and being late to relieve the sitter who missed a date because of me.
Being a single working mom AND a school principal
I love my job, but it wasn't until this week that I realized the strain it has been mentally (not to mention financially!) to manage all that I've been managing.
For the first time in almost six years, I left the house for work at 7am WITH my daughter.
PROUD MOM MOMENT: she's starting kindergarten at my own school!
Some folks have written tips about teaching the principal's kids, and others have suggested that being the leader at your child's school is a mistake.
At our school, we give staff parents the choice of which classroom to put their child in. I believe that parents have a variety of needs as parents, and being on the same staff as their child's teachers is a complicated relationship. We do everything we can to minimize that stress for parents.
My child's teachers will be folks I've worked with for a long time to avoid putting the pressure of teaching the principal's kid on anyone but folks who know me well.
They know I'm not sensitive about hearing bad news, and they know I'm going to be pretty hands-off and let them run the show with my daughter.
I have to be the luckiest mom in the world. All of my daughter's teachers are the best out there, folks who I've grown this school with over the last decade. I trust our curriculum and I love the Montessori philosophy that helps kids build their independence and focus.
Starting Kindergarten: the Morning Routine
So far, I'm enjoying our morning routine. And at the end of the day? I wasn't stressing about getting home to relieve the babysitter. It is such a weight off my mind and she had a super-awesome week.
We usually get up together since my daughter migrates to my bed in the middle of the night. We snuggle for a few minutes and usually she starts talking my head off right away about a very important issue like the new reason she doesn't like cheese or what happens when rocks get wet.
We have a competition for who can get dressed the fastest, which is where her having a school uniform comes in handy because she usually wins.
Then we brush teeth and wash face together. While she splashes around I do her hair. We are not people interested in a lot of beautification, so this takes 10 minutes.
Then I pour some tea for me, grab our backpacks from the hook, and we are out the door!
Everything we need for our day is right here by the door: backpacks, purses, outboxes with bills to mail or notes for the teacher, and a calendar I can review before I head out the door.
We have had several arguments around leaving the house because she hasn't yet really got it mentally yet. She thinks we're going to the coffee shop like it's the weekend or something. I'm sure it'll be just a week or two before this seems totally normal to leave the house WITH mom!
Starting kindergarten: the transition
I can't wait to see how she handles the big transition. I know there could be ups and downs ahead. Why?
Because kindergarten is no joke.
Whether it's the lack of nap, the reduced playtime, or the increased academic standards, every child handles the transition to kindergarten in their own unique way.
Related: Improve Focus and Concentration in Your Child
Have you ever wished for a tool to help you evaluate if your child is ready for kindergarten? Do you ever wonder just what your kindergartener should be doing and when?
If you're the mom of a pre-k or kindergartener or you KNOW a mom of one, check out my Kindergarten Readiness Handbook!
It includes handy checklists for milestones your child should be meeting, as well as ideas for helping your child (and your family) bridge the transition between pre-k and kindergarten.
Get this five-page set of Kindergarten Readiness Checklists to find out if your child is school-ready!
