Manchester Moms Have Mixed Feelings About Seeing Kids Off to Kindergarten

Manchester resident Karen Rosewell’s second child Sophia is starting kindergarten at Parkway's this week, and even though this isn’t the first time she’ll be seeing a daughter off for the first day of kindergarten, she still feels some uneasiness.

It’s a different kind of anxiety, because it is your last one, Rosewell said.

"So I’m almost more anxious because when I think about her being gone I get that little knot in my stomach because I was anticipating her going to half-day kindergarten, and then ," shre said. "I was looking forward to her being gone five mornings or five afternoons, but not all day.”

Sophia, on the other hand, doesn’t give the idea of full-day kindergarten a second thought. To her, it just means twice as much time to show off her new school shoes and lunch box.

“Sophia’s been excited. She’s been counting down the days,” Rosewell said. “All summer, she’s been asking ‘When’s it going to be fall? When’s it going to be fall?’ And by ‘fall’ she means going back to school.”

When asked what she wants to learn about at kindergarten, Sophia said she hopes that her teacher, Mrs. Mayo, teaches about things “under the sea, you know where the octopuses live (because) I like dolphins and puffer fish.”

For those who don’t know, Sophia said that puffer fish “are spiky fish, and when they get scared they puff up like a ball.”

But even more so than dolphins and puffer fish, Sophia is most excited about her new “twinkle toes” shoes that her mom bought her just for the new school year. 

The Rosewells certainly aren’t the only family with children getting ready to start their first week of kindergarten. Jessica Cameron of Manchester is preparing to send her twin boys, Ben and Alex, off to kindergarten at Carman Trails, too.

Cameron describes her feelings as mixed. 

“I’m very sad that it’s another stage of their life that’s over, the preschool age,” she said. “But I'm excited for them, because I think they’ll have fun. But I’m going to miss them because it’s full day.” 

Like Sophia, Ben and Alex both said they are excited. When asked what he’s looking forward to most, Ben answers, “art class...I like drawing faces.” Ben said he specifically likes drawing “faces of you,” by which he means self portraits, his mom said.

Ben’s brother Alex said that he is looking forward to recess and lunch. This will be the first year that the boys eat lunch at school regularly, and they said their older sister, Abbie, has advised them to brown bag it “every day except when they have pizza.”

Abbie, who is 11, is starting sixth grade this year at South Middle. She said she’s disappointed she won’t be at Carman Trails with her brothers and is missing out on potentially being their bus buddy or reading buddy.

Rosewell, who teaches part time, and Cameron, a personal trainer, both say they will take the opportunity with their kids gone for the full day to work more as well as relax a little bit.

“I'll probably get used to it quickly,” Rosewell said and laughed. “But right now I am anxious about her being gone all day.”

The school district is also working hard to make the transition a smooth as possible for the students. Ben, Alex and Sophia’s teachers made home visits during the summer, and there was an opportunity to take a practice ride on the school bus Friday before school started.