School...

Really? Is my little baby old enough for SCHOOL?!

Yup. It was a bittersweet day today as I took Rory down to the primary school to enroll him for Kindergarten in the public school system.

After his assessment test, and meeting the teachers, he was excited about going. I'm glad one of us is excited about it, lol. I'm glad he is looking forward to it. He is so eager to learn.

I found a few things interesting, and disturbing all in one.

#1. I had to request PERMISSION not to give his SSN to the school.
~What? Really? Since when does a 5-year-old have a job where social security has to be with-held from his paycheck? Needless to say, we aren't giving it. (Yeah, we are weird like that).

#2. In order for them not to require him to have MILK with the school lunch, (which is one of his 3 food allergies) I have to get a doctor's note excusing it, and telling the school what to replace it with.
~Since when is it the duty of a public school to dictate what is or is not appropriate for a child to eat? Not to mention, how is it not the job of a parent to say "My child can't have X food"? Why is a doctor, who sees a child once a year, more qualified to say what is or isn't ok for their diet? Rory is allergic to dairy, wheat, and yeast. No, not lactose intolerant, but ALLERGIC. We know this b/c we took it on ourselves to figure it out, not the doctor who barley knows my kid... It just kind of bugs me, I mean, my kids/ my decisions, right? I know what is best for my family, and make the decisions accordingly.

#3. Vaccine waivers...
~Umm... yeah. That wasn't too bad, but still.

#4. Wow, I was amazed at the education level of incoming children.
~Rory has not attended school yet, not preschool or a daycare... but he knows his basics. Children entering the schools don't have to know colors, shapes, letters, or numbers. Let alone how to read, count, write their names, etc... Rory is reading some, and will be reading a LOT over the next month or two... will this hold him back? There is a high number of ESL children that speak no English there too... and they are in the same classes... (and I mean NO English). The whole language thing is a debate on it's own, but I want my child to flurish, and I worry that he won't be able to in this circumstance. Only time will tell.

So, yup. My baby is getting ready to go to school! When did he grow up? And how is this going to go???

On an unrelated note... He learned how to wet exit from a kayak tonight at roll session, and was really comfortable doing it! YEY!