Kindergarten Roundup

 

Tonight we went to Kindergarten Round-up at Alex Sanger Elementary. This is where the parents go to meet the Principal (remember he is your “pal”), the teachers and tour the school. We did this once already in the fall but this was the “official” night and we wanted to go to get Vin excited about it. The one thing he is looking most forward to is not having to take a nap.

Sanger is about 1 mile from our house in a neighborhood called Forest Hills. It’s often called Big Forest Hills because there is also a Little Forest Hills. Big Forest Hills is full of multi-million dollar homes and the school is situated among them. This is not to say that those kids attend this school but there has been an uptick since the recession. There is a strong parent presence and lots of positive energy surrounding the school. This is the most important thing to me because we already know lots of kids in our neighborhood and Vin will go to school that first day and know other students. I can already see car pools and lifelong friendships in the works. Kids who 20 years from now will come home from college, come to our house, walk in and call me Mom. They types of friendships that I have and dearly cherish. It’s one of those weird things we’ve encountered in this neighborhood. We live in the city and yet we live in a small town.

The school has a dual language program which means that Vin will spend half his day in a Spanish speaking classroom and the other half in English. Reading and Math and are taught in English … Social Studies and Science are taught in Spanish. Then they have a language of the day that alternates for subjects like music and art. That is also a bonus that they have music, art, p.e., and a garden.  

They also have a 100% English program and anoter program where Spanish speaking students who are learning English can opt for the program that teaches them English. We’ve chosen the Dual Language Program.

Another exciting thing is the free Pre-K program that Reese will participate in when he’s 3 or 4. This school goes to 5^th grade and so Reese will be in Kindergarten when Vin’s in 5^th grade.

It goes without saying that they are growing up so fast. I cannot believe that Reese got his first haircut and is just 5 weeks away from his 1^st birthday. They are both so sweet and kind and I’m trying to keep them babies as long as possible but I can see them slipping away.

Up until a few months ago, I had Vin convinced that I had the power to keep in 4 years old and could cast a spell to keep him from turning 5. If only that were true.