It may seem like just yesterday you were getting up in the middle of the night to feed your newborn baby. You thought he was so tiny and small – you’d sit in his nursery just to make sure he was breathing. His little life is precious – the kind of gift you never could have imagined until the day he arrived.
Five years later, the time has flown by and the sweet bundle of joy that depended on you for everything is starting to display his own independence. He probably likes to dress himself in mis-matched clothes and insists on doing most things himself. He stuns you with his wit and sense of humor – sometimes you’re amazed at the things that come out of his mouth. He is excited – ecstatic – to ride the big yellow school bus and go to kindergarten. You are anxious and may feel that this rite of passage is a little bittersweet. As a mother, you want to protect his innocence and carefree childhood; at the same time, you are thrilled to see him thrive and experience school and learn.
The good news is that the nerves wear off and you and your child will soon be in the routine of getting on the bus, going to school, coming home and doing a little homework and making friends. But how do you take the first steps of registering your son or daughter for school? The best place to start is on the Internet. If you aren’t sure what school district you live in, you can search for your local public school. Most schools have a website that will provide school resource information, including a map of the district zones.
Once you have determined which school your child will attend, you can most likely download the registration forms from your local school’s elementary school resources for new students. Since you are enrolling in kindergarten, your child is a new student. In the years following, you will not have to fill out as much information because the school district will already have your child’s records. It’s important that you give yourself at least 2 or 3 weeks before registration deadlines to fill out the paperwork.
You will need a few weeks of prep time to gather all the identification information and medical records the school will require you provide. You may also find that your child needs a few immunization shots before school. Typically, schools are not allowed let children without current immunizations attend school, so it is very important you give yourself enough time to make a doctor’s appointment in time for school.
After printing out all the primary school resources and paperwork to enroll your child in school, you can take your child with you to the school when it’s time for registration. This can be a fun, quick trip that will help your son or daughter get acquainted with the school and may help him feel a little more comfortable visiting the school at open house. Open house is the time after registration, typically a few days before school starts. During the open house, your child will get to know his teacher and see his room.
This can be a good time for Mom and Dad to get to know the teacher and learn about PTA programs or school resource center programs. As a parent, you may get as much comfort in becoming familiar with your child’s teacher as your son or daughter will. Teachers, especially kindergarten teachers, are pros at making parents and teachers feel comfortable and safe at school.
Before you know it, your 5-year old little boy will be in middle school and you will have a whole new world of middle school resources to get familiar with. Middle school will be a breeze. It isn’t usually until high school when parents and students remember that sense of anxiety and excitement of starting a new chapter in life. High school resources are some of the most important programs to take advantage of, as they will prepare and aid your son or daughter with getting into college. And college will reset that feeling you have now as your little baby is growing up and going to school. When he flies away to live in a college dorm, those college resources will be important in helping you feel like you have some control or security in keeping your child safe.
Getting the enrollment paperwork filled out and filed on time is the easy part. The first day is the hardest. Whether you sit outside the school all day on that first day of kindergarten or wait at the bus stop for an excited little 5-year old to come running into your arms, you will be thrilled and proud of your little guy – and it will get easier as he grows up.
