Last Day K

There is one kind of robber whom the law does not strike at, and who steals what is most precious to men:  time.  ~Napoleon I, Maxims, 1815

The school year has flown by. My heart is heavy at the reality of how fast life is passing by. I know this mundane world is an illusion in many ways but still I find myself wishing the years did not zoom by.

Amara's first year in K was a mixed bag. The academic work at school did not challenge her much. She was actually bored most of the year with the work given. In a classroom with 29 students and one teacher, there was little the teacher could do to help kids individually. Despite her being asked to do work she had done in preschool,  Amara still took her time and did her best with the worksheets given daily. One of things she did gain from Kindergarten was that her penmanship improved significantly. I was greatly relieved as I didn't want Amara to end up with handwriting like mine. When her teacher mentioned her poor writing skills over the winter time, I went out that same day and go workbooks for her to practice on. Amara never fussed or complained about my requests for her to put in time with extra work at home. She loves to learn and improve herself. 

Don and I were left to fill in other lacking academic gaps at home. With our extra help we saw both improvements and new skills mastered. Amara learned to spell,  and she can add, subtract and count coins.
When it came to math, while I worked hard with Amara, I quickly remembered why I wasn't a teacher. Teaching is a calling and teaching little kids has never called to me. But as parent who wanted to help their child do better and nurture my girl's curiosity, I had to find ways to help her understand new things.

 One the second to last day,  Ms. Good asked the kids what they loved most about the school year, Amara said, "Math."That surprised me. She also loves to find words that rhyme and Amara never stopped practicing her reading and is now devouring chapter books for up to grade 4.  Socially, Amara was, well, Amara. She made lots of new friends and got along well with her peers. Amara was thoughtful at times when others were not.  Amara is a lovely little girl who is a good friend to others. She even reached out to a girl in the special needs class who has now become one of our Daisies.

Speaking of the Daisies, that was a highlight of the school year. We finally got off the ground in February  Better late than never. My co-leader, Nancy, is a grandmother of one of Amara's friends in the class as well as a retired 1st grade teacher at Ellerhorst. Together, along with some rockin moms we have had a ton of fun and learned lots of things in our troop. We look forward to summer fun with our Daisy gals.

So it is with mixed emotions we bid farewell to Kindergarten and Ellerhorst and get ready for our 1st grade in our new school in the fall. In the meantime, we have a fun summer lined up. And we plan on staying connected to some of the new friends and their families we made this year. 

I think that despite our disappointments with the public school system, Amara's first year of school was a positive and memorable one. Each morning she got dressed with excitement of the new school day and each afternoon she came home with a smile. She learned and made friends and we now are more informed as to what Amara needs to help support her to be her best Self. So for that I am thankful.