Just the basics
We are a month into the school year and our kindergartner is doing FANTASTIC! We (Mom and Dad) are also adjusting to the new schedule and the new conversations that now take place in our house. We are also becoming excellent students ourselves, as it seems that all our daughter wants to do now is play school. And of course, she MUST be the teacher. It seems that almost every day I am reminded of my childhood, when my daughter talks about ”what Ashton brought for lunch” or “the girl that wouldn’t play with her at recess”- for the third day in a row. My initial reaction is one that I have had to stifle. I want to share with her my past experience and how she should do this or do that…you know, try to fix it. I have had to really force myself to listen and not immediately start sprouting off opinions or asking questions. This is her experience and I need to hear her out – let her talk it out. To me, as an adult, some of the things seem so trivial or easily solved. But to our kindergartner, this is big girl stuff. She has begun to ask me for stories about when I was in school and “what did you do when this or that happened”. That is the cue that I wait for to share my experience and offer some guidance. I have realized that most of the time she just wants to be heard, understood and listened too. I suppose that is really all that any of us want, isn’t it?
