Getting sucked in

“Your son can’t hop or skip. Its really holding him back” I feel like a failure. Somehow I have neglected to teach Morgan this valuable skill and now he is facing ridicule and lack of success at school... forever.......

Hang on. Morgan is just 5. This is Prep we are talking about – not some sports institution getting him ready for the Olympics.

I am being sucked into the mindless depression that grips any parent with children at school. Comparing them with the achievements of others, trying to reach some sort of benchmark.

The little boy the teachers are describing to me bears little resemblance to the lad who occupies Morgans room. I have been getting notes home about how he pulled someones hair, hit another with his hat and spat at another. Have aliens possessed Morgans body during school hours?

Then I get the big guilt about me

1. sending him to a school in the first place – something that I really thought I would not do – I had planned to home school but was so overcome and impressed by the new school within mins of our new house, changed my mind.

2. sending him to school too early. I had the option of keeping him back till next year as he is amongst the youngest in his group. He is in a Prep and year 1 vertically integrated class – so there are kids there nearly 3 years older than him.

Morgan is so mature, kind hearted and sensible and dare I say - smart at home. What in blue blazers has turned his head to mush when he walks through those gates?

I had resisted doing homework or revision of any work he may be doing at school – at home. Now with reports that his letter formation is not up to standard ( his name can take up an entire A 4 sheet) I am rethinking this strategy. We have always read at home and I had started to do word recognition and letters at home – sending him off to prep able to write his name, recite the alphabet and count to 20. I thought that was a bit over the top and felt a little smug. However to my horror, I am realizing that this is not enough and he is lagging behind. And as the unsaid words hang in the air – once you are behind its very difficult to catchup. How can I have that responsibility hanging over me throughout his school life – that I didn’t do something about it at Prep…!! How ridiculous is all this education stuff getting anyway… for goodness sake – hes only JUST 5.

Isn’t a 5 year old supposed to stick crayons up their nose and do finger painting?

Sigh… well that’s my rant for today…resisting putting on some subliminal French Language course in his room while he sleeps…. Now as for Miss Lilly… oh boy… do I have enough time between now and Jan 2010 to get her reading War and Peace and prepare her arguments on global warming?