I’m going to be selfish for a bit and say, this is not how I planned for my daughter’s last semester of Pre-K to go! Since most of her friends will be going to elementary schools in and around Park West and not the school she is zoned for, I had hoped that this spring/summer she would spend it being with her friends and learning at daycare. Going on fun field trips, getting to go to birthday parties, basically living it up as a five year old.
The end to Pre-K that I imagined
Now, let’s fast forward to June 5th. My daughter is walking down the stairs at her daycare towards her teachers to receive her diploma saying that she has graduated Pre-K and is now on her way to kindergarten (or big girl school). Both sets of grandparents are there cheering her on, you can see them beaming with pride through the tears. There’s also a calm that lies within me because I have a plan for her when she starts school in the fall…
That was how I would dream of Audrey’s graduation day at the start of 2020, and now I have no idea what that day will look like!
As a first-time mom sending a child to school, I have a lot of questions. The biggest question is ‘HOW’?! How do I get her into school? Does Charleston County know that my daughter is five and should be starting school this fall? Is there some sort of registration that is involved? Can she have a tour of the school before she starts? Is there a uniform or dress code? And these were the questions that I had BEFORE COVID-19.
NOT the end that I pictured
Now that COVID-19 has made a home here in the world, the questions feel endless. Will my daughter be able to go to school in the fall? Will they have desks six feet apart and if so, how will that severely limit the number of students in the class? Will there be extra-curricular activities? With time spent with in-home learning, will she be fully prepared for kindergarten? How will school drop-off look? Will there be a vaccine, or more tests available?
With so much uncertainty, looking into the future is like me trying to look through my fogged up glasses… impossible! I can’t imagine that she will have the graduation that I saw in my head in January, but she will have her achievement broadcasted on Zoom for all our family to see and cheer her on.
But no matter what the first day of kindergarten may look like, we will be there to show her that even though all the craziness and uncertainty, these constants will stay the same; we will always figure it out and her family is standing up behind her in support and love.
