momstown Victoria Defining Moments: Adventures in Preschool

“Good night, Taliya.  I love you.”

“Good night, Mommy. I love you too. And Mommy?”

“Yes, baby.”

“I don’t want to go back to school.”

Huh? Did my 4-year old just tell me that she didn’t want to go back to school?  Yes, I admit it is debatable as to who was more excited about her first day of preschool – she or I? But really –How could she not LOVE it? When she came out of pre-school she had a big smile on her face. Was she smiling because she was happy to be leaving school?!

After an hour of lamenting the loss of her academia even before it started, I took a step back and saw the truth of it.

Nothing gave me perspective about how my life had changed in the moment that I held her for the first time. What joy! What elation! And then, what a big responsibility! And so for every day of her life, I wait for her to reveal her hopes, dreams, and passions so I can nurture them. Ah! What work this has turned out to be! Currently, she dreams of flying like Wendy-bird in Peter Pan and she is passionate about barking and howling like a wolf-pup in a wolf pack. She is better at the latter. In any case, why wouldn’t she love school? I had made sure to explain all the great things about school so that she could be as elated as I was about her next step of growing up.

And then, I suddenly realized that I might have set her up for disappointment. Had I hyped it up a little too much? I told her she would make new friends, play games, do art projects, learn new things, etc etc etc…but I realized I was not being realistic at all. I mean, she was only there for an hour (gradual entry for first-timers). No wonder she wasn’t crazy about school – it just wasn’t as fun as I had said it was going to be. She probably thought: What’s the big deal?

I’m still a new mom. I’ve never had a 4-year old daughter before and I got a little carried away with preparing her. Note to self:  First, Be cool. Second, Be realistic. Third and most important, Let her discover for herself what she loves about school.

“Mommy, I don’t want to go back to school”

“Are you sure about that?”

Long pause. “Well, maybe I can try.”

Melanie Matthews is a busy mom of a 4-year old girl and 2-year old twin boys. If you would like to become a guest blogger, please email melissa.hogg@momstown.ca for more info.