Goodbye Kindergarten

On the way to the bus stop this morning.




Today is Donovan's last day of Kindergarten. He's grown so much this school year, physically (he's tall for his age), developmentally, academically and socially. I can still remember worrying, fretting, making lists, buying supplies, dreading and anticipating the first day of school for Donovan. I may have worried a bit more than others because my child wanted no part of going. He was so painfully shy and didn't adapt well to change or new people, that I didn't think it would be good at all. He didn't want to leave the familiarity of preschool, which he also had a hard time adjusting to. It was six months before he'd talk to his preschool teachers and even then I don't think it was a lot. Sure enough, once school started, within the first month we were having a parent teacher conference. Donovan was not interacting with the teacher at all and only a little bit with his classmates. We told her that the only thing we could do is encourage him to open up but really he'd just have to get to a point where he was comfortable. I also was not above bribing him, which actually worked. If he'd talk to his teacher and friends at school.....I'd buy him any DVD that he wanted. Surprisingly, it worked! He didn't turn into Mr. Social but he did start to open up and talk at school. He has friends that he plays with, he's learning and he's happy. What more could a parent ask for? If my child is happy, then I am happy too.