Teacher Mom
Teacher.
Mom.
Teacher-Mom; the double title that has instilled within me great pride for the past five years. There has always been something empowering about throwing it around any time I get the chance. “Yeah, I’m a teacher-mom.” This, in my mind, had given me all of the answers to grooming an academically astute son who would “wow” the masses.
At the close of our first simultaneous school year: him being a pre-kindergartener in the public school system and me being a thirteen year teacher, I could not help but to dig myself deeper in feelings of inadequacy than I would have ever imagined. There were two moments in time that reminded me that I was not on my job this school year like I planned to be.
The first: I sat in the gymnatorium among an assembly of beaming parents who had all gathered for the same reason … to celebrate the conclusion of pre-k; to applaud the accomplishments of our four and five year olds for they had braved their first year in “the big school.” Just before the conclusion of the ceremony one of the cutest scholars was welcomed up in front of us all to read a speech; almost like a valedictorian for the Pre-Kindergarten class of 2024. (WHAT?!) As she read the developmentally appropriate and higher level words, I could not help but to feel a deep sense of pride for her parents. The first thought that raced through my mind was “Ya’ll did that.”
Immediately after cheering for the miniature crowd pleaser, I started to consider my own child and the dreams I had of him being an immaculate reader who exceeds grade level expectations. There I sat, twelve months removed from the time I had set that goal for my child, staring at the goal realized in the form of another young scholar. I. Had. Dropped. The. Ball.
While the second moment will go unrecounted here, it left me feeling similar to how I felt after celebrating the scholarly pre-kindergartener. It left me thinking about how much time I had until my baby’s kindergarten year and how much I did not need the guilt filled cloud haunting me as he proceeds to enter into his most academically enriching and challenging year yet.
My resolve: I have, since, pulled out all of my core pre-k and kindergarten teacher tools to get him ready. Stay tuned for part II of this block post as I share the resources that I have been using to equip my four year old for his kindergarten year.
