Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Lessons I Learned in Pre-K

Tomorrow is my son, Brennon's, last day in pre-K.  Or maybe not.  I don't know for sure.  See, my boy is a summer baby, and I know that by now we should have decided what's going to be in his future, but we haven't.  Even so, whether or not we decide to put Brennon in kindergarten or another year of pre-K in the fall, he's still ending his first year of school tomorrow.  That's a milestone no matter how you look at it.  During this year, Brennon has learned so much more than I could have imagined, but I've learned quite a bit as well. 
First of all, I've learned or rather, had confirmed that time flies by.  This sounds so ridiculous, because there isn't a parent out there that doesn't say this at some time, but really, it's unbelievable to me that the boy for whom we waited and waited to join our family, is almost five years old.  He speaks like a little man and he is a little man.  I love this little man with all my heart, and I just hope that he knows that I treasure the time that I have with him.  I'm so thankful that he's been trusted to me.
I've learned sometimes God sends people into your life through your children.  My friend, Jenifer and I knew each other before the beginning of the school year.  We were happy that our kids were in the same class, and we even made small talk on the first day of class while they played puzzles at the same table. We hoped they would become good friends, but we had no idea that the two of us would become the best of friends. As Brennon & Serenity became "boyfriend and girlfriend", we found that we loved spending time together as friends with our kiddos more than we could've known.
I learned that he's not going to learn everything from me or from the classroom. Sometimes I'll ask Brennon where he learned something, and he'll tell me from Peppa Pig or from hearing you. The other day, he told me he learned the right way to hug from watching daddy and I hug in the kitchen. This obviously wasn't something we set about to teach him, it was just something he learned from our day to day life. The opportunity for him to learn something is always there, even if I am not always ready to take it. From teaching, I've always heard children are like sponges and may soak everything up, and it is so so true
I learned that relationships formed at an early age, even those outside of the family, are so very important. Tonight, I tried to hold back tears as Brennon told me at bedtime that he did not want to leave his friends and his class. He wanted to go to pre-K with them forever. He didn't want to think about having a new teacher next year, because Miss Kelly and Miss Connie are supposed to be his teachers...forever. He had an amazing first experience in school, and for that I will always be thankful.