Why I'm Not Looking Forward to the Start of School

Princess's first day of kindergarten is tomorrow *sob*.  It seems that every time someone hears that she will be going to all-day every-day kindergarten, they immediately tell me that it's so nice that I'll be getting a break.  

Let me clear this up.....I am not getting a break!  I will still have two small children at home.  Princess is good at helping me clean the house and keeping the two little ones entertained.  When she's not here, Little Man places all of his attention on me which means that he follows me around all day talking nonstop so I can't get anything done.  I'll also be getting up 45 minutes earlier to get her ready for the bus at 7:15.  Not only am I not getting a break, but it will be harder to not have her here.

For the rather insensitive people who pointed out that I must be happy that I'm "getting rid" of one of my kids (their words!) for approximately 9 hours a day, 45 hours a week....I enjoy my kids' company, and it saddens me that my little girl will spend most of her awake time away from me and her siblings. 

Oh, and Princess still needs naps a few times a week.  Yes, they have a 15 minute rest time in kindergarten, but she's going to be worn out from kindergarten which will make her crabby.  So for the 3 hours a day I do get to spend with my child, she'll be cranky and not her usual sweet self.  I don't know one single child who has made the transition to kindergarten smoothly, and I know my daughter well enough to know that the transition will be rough and not pretty. 

And there's that whole spending-time-with-your-peers thing.  I think socialization is the dumbest reason for sending kids to public school ever.  Period.  What happens when you put a child with a group of children the same age?  Let's just say that they don't exactly encourage each other to act mature and make wise choices.  In fact, behavior goes downhill when a group of children get together.  Plus, there's all those lovely things she'll learn from children whose parents are a little less strict than we are.

"Many people now recognize that the social environment of many (if not most) schools is actually one of the most compelling reasons to home school.  These negative social experiences can include bullying, foul language, unbiblical world views, lack of values, and increasing cases of emotional and physical abuse."  

Quote from Learning By Grace

So yeah.  That pretty much sums up how I feel about this school year.  The next person who tells me what a great break I'll be getting by having Princess gone all day just might have to listen to this entire blog post being read out loud to them.