Big Transitions For Young Students
From preschool to kindergarten was a big transition — for my son and me. Just when I feel like I’m getting into the groove, the school year is almost up.
Why is it that school seems to drag on when you’re a child, but when you’re a parent, it zooms by in warp speed? Figures. I feel like I’m just getting into the groove and now, we start preparing for the move up to the next class.
It will be bittersweet to say goodbye to kindergarten and aloha to first grade — for Kaimana and us. He loves his teacher Mrs. Petey Kaneshiro. He even asked one day to send her an email from my phone because he missed her. He signed off with all sorts of hearts and flowers emoji. He made my heart smile when he said that, when he’s at school, he misses Mommy and Daddy, and when he’s at home, he misses Mrs. Kaneshiro. Luckily, he won’t have to say goodbye to her — like we did to his preschool teachers last year. He’ll just move into the class next door.
Mrs. Petey Kaneshiro, Holy Nativity School kindergarten teacher, during her class luau TANNYA JOAQUIN PHOTO
Still, it’s a reality check for me. My baby boy is growing up too fast. I get sentimental seeing another school year fly by. Another year that puts him that much closer to college.
OK, I may be getting ahead of myself, but parents know precisely what I’m talking about. I swear I am going to record video of Kaimana saying he will always want to give me hugs and kisses.
Even when he goes to college.
Hey, just a little insurance policy to make sure he never gets “too cool” to do that. He is looking so mature as it is after we gave him a “big boy” haircut. Overnight, he went from looking like our baby to a first-grader. His own grandpa walked right by him because he didn’t recognize him.
Yes, he’s looking that much older and I want to freeze time, or at the very least, spend as much quality time with my kids as possible. Before time’s up — like this school year.
Now, my daughter is a different story. She loves her teachers too, but she’s thrilled to move from her keiki 3’s classroom to pre-kindergarten. That’s because it’s a huge move, symbolically and literally, for my second born. She will shift across the street to the bigger main campus, where her big brother is. That’s also where one of the best playgrounds in town is. She’s looking forward to moving up.
I don’t know that I can say the same right now. It’s concrete evidence of time — and their childhood — ticking by.
