Preparing Paul for Kindergarten

Kindergarten registration is April 1st. In the meantime Adam and I are dropping hints and trying to warm Paul up to the idea of going to school next year.

Intellectually, I know that Paul will have no problem keeping up with his kindergarten peers. Paul is constantly asking, “Mommy, what can I do?” That to me is a clear indication that it is time for him to move on to bigger and better things. Paul is especially keen towards math. One of his most prized possessions is a Scooby-Doo Math Workbook. The addition and subtraction are clearly beyond his ability and yet Paul insists on the two of us solving the problems together. Paul has been a little slower than Megan in his reading and writing skills. He can write his name and a few other words. Because he spends a lot of time on Webkinz, Paul is familiar with the letters on the keyboard and he can type his password like a pro.

Emotionally, however, Paul is a momma’s boy. As Adam might say, “he still has a lot of puppy in him.” This year we discovered the depth of Paul’s shyness (unfortunately, he takes after me). This past fall Paul played soccer. Or rather, he was on a soccer team. He loved the idea of playing soccer, he loved wearing his soccer uniform and he loved going to the soccer field. But after a few minutes of warming up with his team, Paul’s smiling face would suddenly turn cloudy and he would run to the sidelines, cling to my side and make excuses of why he couldn’t play. There were two games that Paul did play and he loved every minute of them. He even scored goals. Since then Paul has developed more confidence and he has adapted to other new things in his life but he still has a flair for stubbornness and over-dramatization.

I have long feared that my payback would arrive the moment Paul enters school. I’ve been told that Megan is “the perfect student.” She is the student that teachers dream about. Self-motivated, respectful, quiet. She has been to the Principal’s office on frequent occasions to receive an award. I have no doubt that Paul will also be familiar with the Principal’s office, but for the wrong reasons. I don’t want this to be a self-fulfilling prophecy. Paul will succeed. He is every bit as smart as Megan but his personality and learning styles are completely different. My challenge will be to discover how to motivate Paul. For as “easy” as Megan is, Paul takes pleasure in being difficult. His current responses to kindergarten are, “I’m not going!” and “When you sign me up, I’m going to erase my name from the list.”