100 Days of Gratitude: Day 33

In contrast to yesterday, today is EASY. Easy, I say! Last night at the Spring Sing, the principal announced that the district decided to fund all-day kindergarten.

Oh happiness! Oh joy! Oh rapture!

Never mind that I am (generally speaking) opposed to all-day kindergarten. It is not something the state needs to fund, and I voted against it. Never mind that if the district had asked my opinion, I would've said that given the current economic crunch, I'd rather lose all-day kindergarten than do things like cut staff.

But they didn't ask me, so it's not my fault, and I get to be completely, totally, deliriously happy. Why? Because even though my oldest two went straight into kindergarten without any kind of preschooling (which I'm a big advocate for when you can get away with it), my Christopher has been a different story.

First of all, he has that tricky December birthday. I could've started him in kindergarten this year. Or not. Last year I didn't know what I would want to do, so I decided to put him in a pre-K program so I could see how he'd do and hopefully be able to make my decision a little easier. Plus, without brothers at home to play with, that poor child needed something to do besides follow me around all day. It was only for an hour and a half a day, just enough.

By the time the pre-K year was over, I knew he wasn't ready for kindergarten. I wanted him to have another year to grow up a little more. Enter the YK program. That's what he's been doing this year. For half the day.

So it's been two years. Two years of this child going to school for half a day. Two years of me driving to two different campuses two times a day. He's ready for full day and SO AM I!!

This Fall, Christopher goes to the "big school" and my life as a parent enters a whole new phase. From 8:30 until 3:00, five whole days a week, my house will be child free.

Child. Free.

I love my kids, don't get me wrong. But right now, all-day kindergarten is a beautiful thing to behold.