Bittersweet Kindergarten . . . . it's that time of year again!  I hear it every spring during school registration and then every fall as the first day of school approaches.  "I can't believe he's old enough to go to school.  He's still my baby!"  "I'm not ready to let her go!" "I wish I had more time at home with her."  What if he likes his teacher more than he likes me?"

I was no different when my first baby turned five years old.  I cried real tears.  I wasn't ready.  I had waited so long for him and I wanted more time with him.  Those around me expressed sympathy and even empathy, but remarked that it just had to be.  Kids have to go to school.  One simple question, in response to that statement, began my homeschool journey:  "Why do kids have to go to school?  Why?  Why at age five?  Why in August?  Why all day, five days a week?  Why can't parents be more invovled in the classroom education?  Why does someone else have the right to raise my child?"

The answer to those questions surpise most people.  The answer is simple:  they don't HAVE to.  The maximum age for compulsory school attendance varies from state to state.  The age was eight in the state I lived in at the time.  Everyone around me was convinced it was six!  Why?  Just because everyone else sent their kids at age six.  It was a tradition that had become an expectation.  Kindergarten aged children do not HAVE to attend class all day.  Remember half-day kindergarten?  It used to be the norm.  When I had foster children in kindergarten, I only sent them half a day.  I had to fuss with the administration, and the teacher was not happy, but I thought it best for a child that age to be nurtured within the family structure.  That particular teacher deliberately arranged her class schedule so the morning, which was when my daughter went, was filled with boring academics.  The afternoon was for fun, and the teacher made sure my daughter knew that every lunchtime when I picked her up.  "But Mommy," she would say, "Why can't I stay to play with playdough?"  Needless to say, we made our own playdough as a family, and we had a great time!  I found it disturbing how the government school (public schools are funded by the governmnet, hence the term 'government school') worked to manipulate my child to influence her away from the family.  (On a side note, check out the book "Government Nannies.")

If you are feeling pressured to send your child to school before you are ready, take a step back.  You do not have to follow the crowd like a sheep.  There are many other options.  Wait a year.  Or two.  Homeschool for a year or two, and then enroll them in public school.  Keep them home, just playing (I recommend reading "A Thomas Jefferson Education") and then homeschool more formally when they are older.  You can homeschool any way you want.  See previous postings to this blog.  Do a google search for homeschooling.  Start asking around and you will find homeschoolers in your area to talk to.  If, after you have stepped back and considered other options, you still want to enroll your child in Kindergarten, you will be much more confident in that decision, because it will truly be, YOUR DECISION!