Reflecting on My Son's First School Year
- jentraynor
- Jun 30, 2016
- 2 min read
Today marks another milestone for my son (and me!) – The last day of his first year at school.
At this time last year I had a three-year-old who was very excited to start junior kindergarten in the fall. There’s a playground right by the school he now goes to that we frequently take the kids to, and every time we’d walk by it he would happily exclaim “that’s my school!”
At this time last year, I was a bundle of emotions. I was sad that my boy is growing up so fast. I was anxious about him transitioning from his small, home daycare setting to a large classroom setting. I was worried about whether my shy, sensitive boy would make friends. But I was also excited for him starting this new chapter in his life and all of the new things he would learn.
Flash forward to today and much has changed.
My now four-year-old has really come out of his shell! He has made many friends in class and even takes the initiative to go up to kids to play.
His art work has gone from a bunch of random scribbles to making happy faces, drawing shapes and people (okay, it’s more like heads with stick arms and legs, but still!) The first real drawing he brought home from school that I could actually decipher what it is was a drawing of a pumpkin. I was so proud!
He’s learning to read and is doing so well with it! He doesn’t get frustrated if he can’t figure out a word; he just tries to sound it out or asks for help. He loves books, which is no surprise since we are book lovers in our house.
He can write letters and numbers. He can spell and write his own name, as well as other family members’ names. He loves to count and is learning basic math skills!
He got his first award at school for academic achievement!
My son has also shown us what a caring boy he is by wanting to help others and being eager to participate in the various school fund raisers or awareness days. He also asked us one day if he could bring goldfish crackers to share with one of his teachers because he said she likes them.
What I’ve learned since he started school is that I don’t need to worry. I have a bright, funny, caring boy who will no doubt continue to do well as he starts senior kindergarten in September. And while I am excited for what else will come, I’m still a little sad that my baby boy is growing up.
