Originally Posted by renie1
i've been reading this thread a while and as our first day of K for our HG DD5 is Tuesday, i am wondering about something.

is it unfair to our child to build up her excitement and enthusiasm when all involved are worried that it will not work out (including DD).. do you think it will create elevated sense of disappointment and loss if it ends up being a miss instead of a hit? We so want the experience to be positive.. but is building up the excitement (for the bus , the new clothes, the new friends, etc.) mean when it seems so bound to not work out?? or can the positive attitude MAKE it more apt to work? i am totally confused about this.
irene

I've been wondering the same thing. I think we did the same things you did (or at least it looks the same from what you listed your post): we emphasized nonacademic things to be excited about, and did not ever say "you're going to learn so much!" I'm an eternal optimist, and I believe that if you are positive about things when you talk about them, your child will view them as positive or at least will until something happens to make it not so. Maybe focus more on the things you remembered liking and make it about you: instead of saying, "You're going to love the bus," say, "I always loved bus rides!" or "That's so cool that your room has _____; I didn't have that in my kindy" or even, "I think that you will like...." Then, if your child doesn't end up liking something, they can't really come back and "you were wrong."

Of course, I'm sure there will be many hard days the first few weeks. But I think if we don't focus on positives, the outcome will be worse.