Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Age or Ability Specific Forums Pre-school holding on to the baby AND letting the eagle soar

As Kindergarten is quickly approaching (9/11), I am amazed by the mixture of feelings inside me. In many ways, K seems much too "babyish" for my DD5.0 (performing many years beyond K) yet at the same time, I can't believe my "baby" who in many ways is young compared to children who enter K with her (May birthday, small stature, less able with certain physical things like monkey bars, bikes, games with balls, and emotionally very sensitive and reactive). It is though I have two children in one. One is my baby who still has chubby cheeks and a baby face and is giggly and seems younger than kids her age sometimes, and the other half who is this child who can take my breath away with her memory, her language, her art, her knowledge, and ability. How do I meet the needs of both children in this one small body? And how do I as a mother manage my own feelings about my "baby" leaving for school?

I know what you mean. I went to a birthday party with my smallish DS5.10, and the differences in physical size and maturity with his first-grade classmates were obvious. You are wondering about challenges with asynchronous development that many parents here have faced, so I would just keep up with the forum, search for helpful info, and ask questions as they come up.

I also think, in a general sense, that it's a good idea to hold on instead of letting a raptor literally soar away with one's child in its talons. But that's the sort of tension between environmentalism and parenting that some here may have faced as well.

The difficulty in sending one's kid off to kindergarten is one faced by a great many parents too, of course. I think there's nothing to it. Tears are often shed, you pack the kid off, and in the end the experience is most likely going to turn out all right. Here are some pics of our doleful DS5 going off to his first day of kindergarten-- but that night he was thrilled to have met so many new people:
http://photos.smugmug.com/IMG0045/994591762_yt29m-O.jpg
http://photos.smugmug.com/IMG0088/990263568_n7rsZ-O.jpg

All our doubts about Mr W ( 3y4m) disappear when he spends time with 5 and 6 year olds and wears THEM out.

Our biggest challenge right now is teaching him positive self-talk so that when he gets knocked down or something occurs that "is not fair" he can take it in stride.