Kindergarten Registration.

Kindergarten registration started this week. Paige will be entering Junior Kindergarten, or JK as it is usually called, in September. This is something new for me, as there was only 1 year of kindergarten where I'm from. She'll have 2 years of kindergarten--JK and SK, before beginning grade school. I downloaded and filled out the forms and gathered all of the neccessary documents. Before going to the school I ran into a neighbour who reminded me that I would have to select whether we would prefer the "Monday/Wednesday/every other Friday", or the "Tuesday/Thursday/Every other Friday". It's not guaranteed, but you get to submit your preference. There's something like 14 Kindergarten classes at her school in our young family focused neighbourhood. It's not the only school either--there are about 5 or 6 more schools in our subdivision. At any rate, there are a million classes, and I get to decide which day I would like her to go on. My preference is the Tuesday/Thursday track so that we get lots of extra long weekends during cottage season.


Anyway, later on in the day it hit me that whatever decision I make is more than just a decision about heading up to the cottage for a few extra days. Whatever class she is in could determine her friends for the rest of elementary school, high school, or life! A large majority of my friendships have been going on for 20+ years! My Kindergarten friends moved away, but other friends trickled in starting in grade 1! It's potentially a big deal. School is a big deal in general, and I can't believe she'll be going this calendar year.

So, we made the 45 second car journey over to the school. We will walk when she is actually going to school, but we need a snow-appropriate stroller for Rose, and a sidewalk free of ice. I handed in all of the documents and filled out a few more and she was all signed up. The school was definitely intimidating for Paige as it was between classes and the kids walking around were a lot bigger than she is used to seeing around the place she takes her preschool classes (the school goes up to grade 8). Not to mention, she slipped on the way in, and had a wet and cold bum. She acted a bit shy and scared when we were in there, but I have no doubt that she will adjust quickly to Kindergarten. She does well with other kids in classroom settings, and she loves to be the silly one in the room. She hasn't napped in a year and a half so I don't worry that she'll tire out. A few things we need to master before school starts are more independence in terms of dressing herself and completing the whole bathroom routine by herself. But we have 8 months for that so I have no worries.