Her backpack is packed

by | Parenting & Family

I kept yelling through the wall that it was bedtime and that she needed to settle down, but she was no where near ready for that.

She burst out of her room, breathless with questions: Could she bring crayons to kindergarten? Will there be show and tell? Is it ok to put the crayons in her backpack?

There were more questions, but I can’t remember them all. I tried to answer them as I could while steering her back to her room.

Yes, you can put crayons in your backpack, I told her. And we will need to get you a new backpack for school.

Her face darkened a bit: “But, my backpack is already packed.”

Kindergarten starts in 78 days.

ready for kindergartenv- backpack

I examined her backpack with her, and together, we removed the items, piece by piece, so she could tell me about each one.

There were, of course, the crayons. And a piece of paper so she can color on it. She explained to me that she folded the paper so it will fit in the back pack.

inside backpack

She also packed a football because at kindergarten she might learn to “do sports.”

And a red block because red is her favorite color.

And a hairclip in case her hair gets in her face. To me, this last item was most remarkable because she resists all my attempts at keeping her hair out of her face, especially hair clips.

I explained again that we will buy her a brand new big kid backpack for school, because she’d had her old toddler backpack since she was two. So she put it on to demonstrate that it still fits.

backpack on back

I finally got the backpack away from her, and convinced her that backpacks are not safe to sleep in. And she finally settled down and fell asleep – no doubt dreaming about playgrounds, coloring, show and tell, and “doing sports.”

On the other hand, I am still wide awake, marveling at her love of learning, her exuberance, and relishing the fact that we have 78 days left until the start of kindergarten. Also, I’m panicking a little, because there are only 78 days left until the start of kindergarten.

Judy Schwartz Haley

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