You might have been this excited once before. That time we surprised you with a birthday trip to Disney World might hold a candle to this giant, yellow bus. It’s the same one you’ve watched drive along our street for years, and today it stops for you on your first day of Kindergarten.
The steps look a smidge too big as does your backpack. I adore you for being careful not to show too much excitement to save my feelings. I think you can sense that today is one of those days when moms try to stop time. The bus hurries along to its next stop where undoubtedly there’s another mom just like me taking in the same bittersweet milestone and trying her darndest to be okay.
As I reflect on today and what I hope you discover this year and the school years to come, it is this.
A’s in Kindness
It’s the character trait that matters most. I want you to choose kindness for your classmates, for your teachers and for yourself. See everyone who you share this school with as a blessing on this Earth. Look for the good even when it might be shadowed by the not so good.
We all – even you – hold the power to make this place better, brighter, kinder.
So what does that look like for a just turned six-year-old? It means…
- We don’t have best friends, we are all friends. Exclusion hurts.
- Make sure no one is sitting alone at lunch or playing by themselves. Invite them into your corner of the world.
- If a classmate looks hurt or sad, ask them if they are okay. They might need to be reminded that someone cares.
- Respect your teacher and the adults at your school. They are there to help you learn and grow.
- Be helpful and listen.
- Know that you are loved not for what you accomplish at school each day but for the character you bring with you.
“In a world where you can choose to be anything, choose to be kind.”
Learn to Love to Learn
You are going to be asked to learn so much more than you think your mind can master. It may feel sometimes that you cannot possibly learn one more thing.
But then you do.
And that lightbulb moment gives you the energy you need to learn the next thing and then the next. I hope you are proud and excited by all the things you will discover about the world we live in and that the novelty doesn’t wear off.
You grow by learning. And if you’re lucky, that will never, ever change.
Confidence in Being You
You are wonderfully and beautifully made. There’s only one you, and you owe it to yourself and the rest of us to be true to who you are.
You probably don’t know who the “true you” is quite yet, but if you ever feel like something isn’t sitting right in your heart, then think of it like someone shouting “red light” in a playground game. Pause and listen to your heart.
It knows who you are.
It knows you have an amazing soul that won’t lead you astray.
And when you feel a little scared (because you will), just look down at your wrist to the “BE BRAVE LOVE YOU” bracelet that I gave you on your first day. It will remind you that I am always with you.
“Making the decision to have a child – it is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body.”
I’m convinced that Elizabeth Stone must have written this on the first day of Kindergarten.
Soulments is a safe place where you can store the firsts, the lasts and all the moments in between as you watch your child grow. It works the best when you add in your child’s name and birthday, and then Soulments will remind you to capture those moments you want to hold on to.
Do you remember your child’s first day of Kindergarten?