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Marta’s extended visit with us this summer has had some wonderful moments but August is waining and as September nears the first day of school (September 3rd) is coming up like a fast moving train. Her father registered her when he was here. Now I wonder each day, is she ready? She is a very social child but I see that she puts out all this energy for only one purpose…to be noticed and complimented for what she is doing, be it dancing for all who will look on the grocery line or just asking someone what their name is and how old they are. I am explaining daily that there are times when we don’t dance and people who don’t need to be our friends but as long as it bring attention her way there seems to be no stopping her.
Many of the children she will encounter in this first formal year of education will have been in pre K programs for several years. She has been in a rather unstructured play program (my choice as well). My concern is will her socialability trump all the years of “education” that some of these little ones have had.
The woman who owns the organic farm stand where we shop seems to think Marta will “own her class”. I hope she is right. The good news is that she will be tested for any learning issues and they will be identified. This way when she returns to Estonia she can have these problems addressed. Most of all I want her to have a fun time and this program is filled with fun times, playground, art, music and yes some writing & reading. At the moment she needs to be able to write her name and not ask me is this going the right way Mimi? : ) We are working on that.
The good news is that I am a Mimi, someone who put my first child on a Yellow School bus 32 years ago. He had some big sitting still and focusing issues but is now a VP for a NYC company and has done very well for himself. So I will not panic if she has any issues like the parent of a first child…well perhaps just a little. Her father was in pre K for years so he did have a huge advantage and like Marta he loved to read, but unlike Marta he could read by this age. He went on to be a fabulous student and continues to be that in grad school. I think one of the most possitive things that has happened over this summer is that now Marta will now say “come-on Mimi if we don’t get ready for bed soon I will fall asleep before you finish reading my book.
This is what makes this Mimi’s heart smile…
Coming from an Irish/Italian family my upbringing was one of private catholic schools, Church on Sundays and other days that were called holy days of obligation..a day when some saint or a special occasion brought us all to the church on a weekday. The result of all of this religious education was that I became sick and tired of having Catholicism sprinkled on my breakfast cereal and I tuned out..
Over the years I have examined my lack of interest in organized religion and have come to the conclusion that I must have paid attention to the message, it’s just that organized religion didn’t, so I try to live my life the way I was instructed I just have a difficult time believing in the “business”of religion. My son Ian, Justin’s older brother was influenced by my mother and her brother a Catholic priest…I was never the one to take him to church and he seems to have a deeper belief in “the church”. At about age 7 Justin asked one day “what are we” ? Huh? What do you mean what are we? Are we Christian, Jewish… what are we?..
I must not have given a good answer because later that day I found him with the phone directory looking up churches for us to attend…”This Baptist Church sounds good Mom”.
Under pressure we joined an Episcopal Church down the road and he seemed happy with all the “church stuff” and even became an acolyte, attending to the candles and dressing in the traditional alter boy garb. One would think that this would be the son who embraced religion, the one with the keen interest, but no, no …not so.
This brings me to The Care Bears.. A collection of bears with good morals that arrived on the scene when Justin was a kid.. These Care Bears all had kind messages attached to them. Justins favorite, the yellow bear who was called Sunshine Bear. He had several of these including a little plastic one 3″ tall.
While we were all running about the house looking for Justin’s chronically missing wallet the other day I took a re-look into his brief case/computer bag and who should be sitting there at the bottom, but Sunshine Bear. Justin has never traveled anywhere without this iconic little guy.
So I dubbed him St. Sunshine Bear… he, Justin might need to comment on the personal significance of his little yellow Care Bear….
St. Sunshine Bear
