It’s really happening.
My baby is going to kindergarten.
In 15 days.
He is excited. I am holding it together pretty well; I’m keeping the crying down to a minimum.
We’ve been talking a fair amount about this transition, and my son, R, seems prepared. We’ll see how the next two weeks go, of course.
Since this is such a big deal, I wanted a ritual–some activity he and I could do together that would make all of this growing up really… real.
That’s where this thing came in…
The backpack.
Selecting one together seemed like the right way to mark the move to elementary school. So, off we went last weekend to L.L. Bean.
(My husband asked why L.L. Bean; after all, you can purchase backpacks anywhere. I had two reasons: 1) nostalgia – I had a L.L. Bean backpack when I was in school and the thought of sending R off to school with one seemed like I was coming full circle, and 2) quality – That L.L. Bean backpack lasted forever. I wanted a pack for R that he could use for many years to come. And, no, the L.L. Bean folks didn’t ask me to say that.)
Truthfully, R wasn’t so enthusiastic about going to pick out the backpack. He would have rather gone swimming or played mini golf. (The ritual clearly was for me.) The L.L. Bean store in Burlington, however, has a fish tank so he was mollified a little bit.
The welcome letter from school recommended a big backpack since kindergarten projects tend to be oversized. R wanted a pack in his favorite color–red. He tried on two (that were sized by the salesperson), agreed to one, and we were off to find that fish tank.
The backpack and its matching lunch box are now hanging in our mud room, waiting for that first day of school on September 3. I suspect I’ll be packing and unpacking it a lot. And, oddly enough, I’m looking forward to that.
This is part of series of posts about Getting Ready for Kindergarten;
you can read the others here.
I can’t believe you have a kindergartner! Take comfort in knowing you still have another 15 days… school down in Georgia started for some on August 5, and my niece in Arizona started on August 7. Isn’t that still summer???
I know, right? It’s crazy how fast time goes by!
Aww… it’s harder for us than for them most of the time. I do recommend another ritual… my kids have to empty and then hang their backpacks when they get home from school and then I go through all of the stuff. I find it to be a good transition and a way to get them talking about their days before they forget.
That’s a great idea, Christy! I’m going to adopt it for us, too – thanks for sharing!
Definitely get into the emptying of the backpack/lunchbox routine as soon as possible! Did you have a list of supplies to buy too? Today we got Z’s kindergarten supplies: 2 fat glue sticks, 1 package washable markers, 1 plastic 2-pocket folder. The older kids’ lists were MUCH more complicated. We start next Thursday.