The time is almost here. The bags are stuffed, the lunches ready to be made, the clothes are matched and waiting to be worn, the shoes are shining like only new shoes can, and the excitement is brimming. It’s almost time for your first day of kindergarten.
It seems unfair that my days with you are getting cut short. No longer can I keep you home “just because.” No more late mornings and just fun days spent at home together. You have a job to do now, and you have to do it alone. As much as I would like, I can’t sneak into your backpack.
As you start your kindergarten journey, these are my hopes are prayers:
I hope you always feel safe. I hope you feel safe, both physically in the classroom and emotionally to express yourself and be uniquely you.
I hope you are someone’s best friend. I hope you meet a friend (or two) who just gets you. Friends who share your love for the color pink and high heels. I hope you find friends that appreciate your sweet dance moves and ninja skills, and I hope you learn how to truly cherish and appreciate these friends. I hope you find great friends, and I hope you are a great friend.
I hope you feel like part of something. There is something special about classmates. You are together five days a week for the majority of a year. You cry together, you laugh together, you grow together, you learn together. All your unique personalities make up a special family.
School is also such a special community. Not only do I pray you feel part of a classroom, I pray you feel like a very special member of your school, that you get giddy seeing your teachers and friends outside the classroom.
I hope you feel challenged. This year will be hard. You will learn new skills and start to learn to read. It won’t be easy, but I hope you never give up and keep trying — it will be worth it.
I hope you can’t wait to come home and tell me about your day. I hope you can’t wait to get in the car and tell me all about what happened that day. I hope you tell me all about your friends, classes, and teachers. I will love to hear all about your experiences and share in the excitement.
I hope you take pride in picking out your outfits. You have such a fun style. I hope you put time and effort into picking just the right outfit and I hope you feel like a million bucks walking into school the next day.
I hope you share with others. You will encounter all kinds of kids, those who have more than you and those who have less. I hope you are giving and share with those less fortunate. Share your chips, share your pencils. I promise I won’t be mad. I pray you embrace your generous soul.
I hope you appreciate your teacher. Teaching is hard. I pray you show your teacher the respect she deserves and I hope you do your best to make her job easier. Be a leader and show the others how to respect your authority figures.
I pray you fall in love with learning. I hope you devour all learning material put before you. I hope you just can’t get enough. I want to hear all about what you learned. I hope you just can’t stop talking about all the subjects you learned about.
I hope you can’t wait for the break to end and school to resume. As much as I hope you enjoy your breaks, I hope you are giddy with excitement for school to return, to see all your friends and teacher, and to begin an exciting new year.
