A poem for Sawyer on his first day of Kindergarten
May your days be filled with wonder,
new friends, skills, and laughter.
Waking up each day excited,
with new dreams to chase after
Will your true self shine through –
confident, bold, and smart
Never forgetting to be generous,
kind, and to think with your heart
Sawyer, you see my hope is simple,
and I’ve had it from day one
May not one day on Earth go by
when you’re not happy, my son.
So, be a great listener
who others want to be around
And be someone’s joy
when they are feeling down
Today is just the start
of many adventures you’ll behold
You’re one of kind, Sawyer,
and I know you’ll break the mold!
-Love Mom
Coming in to this day, I said I wouldn’t cry!
I actually had this inter dialogue that went something like this:
“Sawyer’s first day of kindergarten will be so exciting, why would I cry?”
Well, I couldn’t have been more wrong!
I cried when we woke up yesterday, I cried at his meet the teacher event, I cried when I dropped him off at his last day of pre-k, and tears filled my eyes as I walked out the doors of his first day of kindergarten.
But, I am not crying because I am sad. I am crying because I am proud.
Almost exactly one year ago, this same little boy was kicked out of school (read all about it on my blog, here: https://wordpress.com/posts/hamratime.com). He was struggling to control his emotional responses and was diagnosed with social/emotional delays.
From that day, we started a long road of getting him ready for kindergarten. He switched schools, started and graduated from a special education program with an IEP, went to behavioral exams, completed months of therapy, and attended with no issues Springfield Public School Summer School program.
I don’t even recognize that kid. He has matured, learned to cope with his emotions, opened up to us verbally, became more social, and has a whole new confidence.
When I asked him before bed, “How do you feel about starting kindergarten?” His response, “I am a mix of emotions, mostly excited but also scared and mad.”
I asked him why and he was able to express so perfectly exactly what he was feeling. “I am scared because I have never been to kindergarten before, but a little mad that I don’t know anyone on my bus yet.” This is huge…before he would have shown these emotions through outburst, maybe even violence. I am just so proud!
Today, I left him at his little desk in Mrs. Hoffman’s kindergarten class at Sequiota Elementary. He entered as a confident young man with not an ounce of fear filling his eyes. Honestly, it left me a little speechless. I think I expected to have to wipe his tears and ripe myself away from his hugs (remembering the boy he was last year).
Hamratime 