Our baby is a Kinder Gartener!!

My little cherub, the baby of the family turned 5 and that just crushed me and now she is off to school all by herself? It's very over whelming.

How can this be happening within the blink of the eye? Well, I guess I can go on and on about how this is not fair and how they grow up way too fast and then accept it or just smile and accept it and enjoy this phase of her.

After a cumulative of 12 years ( well, 7 and 5 is 12 isn't it? even though the oldest is 7) of parenting, I have decided to enjoy the present with the girls rather than brood over how soon it all is getting over.

Every phase has it's really high points and thankfully with Gowri, she's still in the age where she wants to communicate everything with mom. Amuktha was never there and is in fact slowly growing out of mom knows everything phase :( sigh!, sigh.

Coming back to Gowri, the best thing she liked about the whole experience is the school bus. I have to admit, she is not completely ready and somehow is intimidated with the classroom though.  Sometimes I wonder if we are doing the right thing by insisting on speaking Telugu at home as the girls seem a tad bit lacking in confidence in their English speaking skills. Well, time will tell.

But, for now the little one seems all excited and settling into a routine, although it seems to be passing a little too quickly, I will grab everything I can and make a lot of memories while I can.

Welcome to a lifetime of learning little one and all the very best!!! I feel sorry for her as this is only the beginning of a lifetime of routines and I hate routines, I really do.....

Amu goes to 2nd Grade!!

I have been feeling restless for the past one week since we went and saw Amuktha and Gowri's new school - LakeRidge Elementary in Mercer Island, WA.

The baby of our home going off to Kindergarten seems so much more over whelming than Amu going off to second grade which in itself seems pretty big.

This year is going to be one of lot of changes. Moving to Seattle area, new school and maybe a new job.  I hope the kids take it well.

Amuktha was so excited that she woke up all by herself and got all ready for school. She was super happy that she finally was getting to ride a school bus. We went to the bus stop and off she goes, my big second grader.

Good luck my little champ!!

Mean Mom??

Of late, I have observed that I am in constant battle with myself about Amuktha. I have become this nag mom, who is after her all the time starting in the morning until night. Brush your teeth, finish you breakfast, put the used dishes in the sink, so on and so forth until brush your teeth you will be late to bed...........

How does someone manage time and tell it's importance to a 6 year old? Am I the nagging mom who is always on her case to either finish her homework or clean up her mess so that she can get enough rest.

What am I doing wrong? I feel like I am developing a gap with her. I don't want to be this controlling mother, but I don't want to blame them at the end of the day when I go to bed late because I end up cleaning all the mess they made.

Is there ever a balance? I know I have to prioritize, but I can't let the house be a mess or forget the laundry or feed them leftovers and being a working mom doesn't help.

They say tough love is true love, is it really? But, kids need to feel the love don't they? They shouldn't be in an atmosphere where they are scared to do anything. I realize as a parent, I should be the more mature one and pick my battles.

Amu completes Kinder Garten

How time flies....

I so vividly remember thinking when Amuktha was a month old that  I will never send my baby to school as I don't want to spend so much time being away from her.

But then, last year it happened. She turned 5, it really felt like the blink of an eye. This is not exaggeration when I say this, it did feel like it was all happening too fast and now I am here one year later wishing she was still going to KinderGarten. But, no she will be a "First Grader". I don't think I can take this growing up so fast any more.

Some times I think I should just quit working and stay home. Well, what would I do?They will still be away at school and I find myself complaining that it is hard to manage two kids all alone and it is challenging to meet their demands and satisfy their needs. I guess it's just that I miss their babyhood and their toddler years. So, all I can do is cherish today as I am going to miss this day a year later.

I felt emotional when I went to pick her up from school, hand their teachers a thank you gift and say good-bye to B5- the classroom where it all started-the place where my baby took her small steps into this big world. What's wrong with me? I kept thinking. I got all sentimental and teary eyed hugging her teachers. Mrs.Martin & Mrs.Chang. I think they did a great job. Amuktha did blossom in school.

There were all the weekly spell tests about which I would stress out and stress her out too. The homeworks for which I had to constantly be behind her and get her to complete, after a long day at school. Then there were the spring and winter programs, the songs from which haunt me at night even now. The worst of all -being tardy-driving like a maniac in the safest possible way to get to school on time. Well, there were other things like trying to be diplomatic with teachers while convincing  them to select her for the "important" role in the plays. Can't believe I did that. Asking the teachers "what I should  do " for her to be the student of the day more than the other kid, just to see the excitement in her eyes when she displayed her "student of the day" sticker...

When I look at her, I see this confident, independent young girl who knows her way around things. I am impressed when she gets up to her teachers without hesitation if she has to make a point. I am impressed the way she handles friends who bully her. I am impressed to see how well behaved she is

and mostly I am impressed to see that she knows what she wants.

Well, I do see the flip side too. She has gone from this ever complying pre-schooler to always questioning kinder-gartener who doesn't hesitate to question me. I see the so called attitude, yes she does have some. I am slowly learning to take a step back, be ready to have a reason, an excuse of why I did what I did, be ready to apologize if I am proved to be wrong and most importantly to accept that not any more does she think I am the super-woman who knows and does everything. This is a very humbling experience. She thinks "I am a ruler". I have a long way to master the art of being a mother. Thanks baby girl for making me a better person.

I am glad, we decided to have one more child..cos my days of being the super-woman don't seem to be coming to an end with the little one yet...

More firsts from the girls

Amu
1. First day of Kindergarten - August 28th 2012
2. First soccer game - August 13th 2012
3. First solo trip to the restroom - Feb 17th 2013


Gowri

1. First time she started writing her names - January 2013
2. First time she  rode a tri-cycle - August 2012

Amu passed her first Interview!!!!!!!!

Amuktha is going to turn 5 in August. I just can not believe it. I still vividly remember the day when I got to know I conceived and the day she was born. I have often heard people say that they grow up before you know but boy is it true!!
My baby is ready to start school and after all the stories and talks about Kindergarten at her class she thinks it's some magical place and wants to be there.
She so badly wants to go there that I can easily get her to do things she often refuses by saying the magic words "Kindergarten".

Next came the big issue - where is she going to go to? Public school or private? After a lot of debate about our home school, which I do nto have a great opinion about and which does not have great ratings either, we decided to send her to the reputed private school Stratford. Challenger would be too academic and we thought we did not want her to get burnt out too soon.

Now the challenge, startford has an Interview for the child. What? An interview for a 4 year old? Really? Ok... so off we went, telling her she needed to talk to her new teacher at the school. She had an interview for 20 minutes the details of which I know not because she is not the kind who shares details. Pawan and I threatened her, bribed her, coaxed and cajoled but she would only say a part.
Well, the teacher said she was so cute after the interview - what does that mean? Cute? Does not give any insight into what happened or how she did, now does it?
Well, the school called after 2 days, she had to go back for the next round of interview for vocab .. and they said this was common practice.. this time we armed her with all the knowledge of vowels and sounds and reading and all...
This time the teacher said she did excellent and that was what we wanted to hear....
And then the Principal talked to us and congratulated and blah blah...

The result - Amuktha MADE IT. Pawan says he is happier than when he got in Berkeley..LOL!!!

New place new school

The move to California was a big one for me, but for the kids it seemed to not make too much difference. We did our research for pre-schools and then finalized on Mission College Child Development Centre which has amazing ratings. Thanks to Archana for suggesting it.

The first visit did not have a great impact on me. I had my own apprehensions and doubts. But, Amuktha adjusted amazingly well. Karina, her teacher is wonderful. The best Amuktha has had so far. She made her feel at home and always welcomed her.

Amuktha is shy but she adapts really well into a new situation and now I see her blossom.

As for Gowri, this was her first time staying out of home. She is taking her time adjusting. Even after a couple of months at school, she still has her days when she does not want to go there. She has her set of favorite teachers - Marsha & Simar ( she calls then maisha & simay). But, the first day after school when I asked her what her teachers name was, she said Koyta and I have never been able to figure out who that is. But, she is just 2, am I doing the right thing as a mom to leave her there? Am I always going to be in this dilemma? But, I have slowly started liking this school, not sure about Gowri though.....