Village Voice - September,
2005
Off
to School … With Prayers
September means the start of many
things. The weather changes, the days
start getting
shorter and kids go back to school. My
oldest child will be starting Kindergarten this year and it’s hard to
believe
that my little boy (or “little bear” as I like to call him) is growing
up. I’m sure that my fears are the same as
most
parents whose children are beginning “big-kid” school for the first
time. What will his teacher be like? Will he make friends? Will
he do well in his class? Have I prepared
him adequately for what lies
ahead?
I’m both sad and excited at the same
time about sending my first-born
child into the wilderness of Kindergarten.
I won’t lie to you. I’ll cry for
a bit once I’ve left him at the door of his classroom on the first day
of
school, but I guarantee you one thing.
He won’t. He’ll march directly
into the classroom and will likely say “Good-bye” to his mother over
his
shoulder. But the excitement of
something new will be entirely more interesting than his boring mom. If only we could all be so excited about new
situations. I’m proud of my son for his
outgoing nature.
There’s only one thing that keeps me
going when my child keeps moving
forward, not looking back. FAITH. Faith that God will protect him.
Faith that He is watching over my child, and
that when I pray for guidance in parenting him, those prayers will be
answered. Faith that God has given me
the tools I need to show him how to live.
Faith that God chose me to be his mother for a reason. How can anyone parent without faith? There’s so much uncertainty in parenting, so
many questions, so many things you can mess up.
Faith and prayer are essential in parenting.
Let’s face it, you can read all the parenting
books in the world, but our Father in Heaven knows our children far
better than
any book. He is the real guide. And while I can’t be in the classroom with my
son, I know God will be there with him every step of the way.
Starting Kindergarten is important.
He’ll learn to read and write.
He’ll go to science class (his favorite) and he’ll go to music.
According to Robert Fulghum, a former Unitarian minister, “All I Really
Need to
Know I Learned in Kindergarten.” In his
book, Robert Fulghum outlines some of the most important life lessons
which
most of us learn as five-year-olds. “Share everything; play fair; don’t
hit
people; put things back where you found them; clean up your own mess;
don’t
take things that aren’t yours; say you’re sorry when you hurt somebody;
wash
your hands before you eat; flush; warm cookies and cold milk are good
for you;
live a balanced life – learn some and think some and draw and paint and
sing
and dance and play and work every day some; take a nap every afternoon;
when
you go out in the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands and stick
together;
be aware of wonder – remember the little seed in the Styrofoam cup: the
roots
go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why, but
we are
all like that; goldfish and hamsters and
white mice and even the little seed in the Styrofoam cup – they all die
and so
do we; and then remember the Dick-and-Jane books and the first word you
learned
– the biggest word of all – LOOK.”
So I’ll pray for Connor’s Kindergarten
teacher as
well as his Sunday School teacher (those who know him would say that’s
a good
idea!). And I’ll pray that he does well
in school and that I am able to help him with his studies and that
he’ll make
lots of friends. But most importantly,
I’ll pray that he continues to learn about faith in God and that he’ll
grow
into a strong Christian with strong values and principles.
And I’ll pray that one day he’ll be able to
pass along those values to his children.
--Kasey Malatesta