My Oldest Started School: All the Emotions

I think when your oldest starts school, there’s always a lot of emotion behind it. So with Tel starting school this month, I’ve had a lot to process and think about. 

First off, he is so stinking excited to go to school. And for that I am very grateful, and excited for him. I am glad he has this opportunity to learn how to speak and be with friends. 

However, I am also super sad. This isn’t how I had planned things going in my life, which is always hard to come to grips with. It’s a bittersweet feeling watching your babies grow up. 

One more interesting dynamic going on for us, is that I have been seriously considering homeschooling, at least at first. I have a degree in early childhood, which I would like to put to use. Plus, as I was getting that degree, I felt more and more that those early years should be spent at home. However, all my efforts at home have not been helping him learn to speak correctly, so I realize that he needs some intervention. It feels kind of like a failure on my part. Have I not been intentional enough? Could I have done more? Was I doing too much other stuff?

I’ve had to really push myself past my comfort zone to try and get clear about my values and beliefs about my children’s education. I’ve built this whole page and brand kind of based on the thought process of “most learning happens at home, you don’t HAVE to send your child to preschool.” But here I am sending my child to preschool, and it doesn’t feel like I really have much of a choice. 

So the thing I am focusing on is that most of his education is still happening at home. Just because he has this time that he needs to go to school right now, doesn’t mean it will have to be like this forever. And it most certainly doesn’t mean that my job of educating him is over. 

I’m trying to make the most of this opportunity, so see how school and home learning can go hand in hand. And I hope to bring you along in order to provide you with helpful information no matter your situation.