Acton Kindergartners: Big Kids Now

The first day of kindergarten. It’s among the most significant rites of passage in a child’s life, one that heralds the end of early childhood and the beginning of the official school years.

Many Acton families took part in the ritual last week, reporting mostly successful starts for their new kindergartners.

Sarah Auerbach said her 5-year-old son, Caleb Nelson, told his mom he had “a lot of fun” on his first day as a student despite some jitters in the early part of the day.

“He was a little bit nervous at first, but for the most part he was confident and excited,” said Auerbach. “Having an older sibling helped a lot (to prepare him), and orientation did too.”

As for her reaction to the experience, Auerbach said, “It was harder the second time than I figured. He looked so small getting on the bus. But he was so brave. We’re very proud of him.”

One parent who can relate to Auerbach’s mixed emotions is Michelle Silbert, whose daughter Jada’s initial trepidation caused her mom to feel emotional as well. Despite months of “pretend playing kindergarten,” Jada clung to her mom at the last minute.

But the worries ended there. Jada soon joined her new teacher and classmates and when she got home, “She gave the day a ten, on a scale of one to ten,” said Silbert.

That was good news for the Silberts, whose path to enrolling their younger child in kindergarten was at times an uncertain one. Like her older sister, 8-year-old third-grader Kayla, Jada was to have attended , but when she wasn’t selected from the lottery for full-day kindergarten, her parents decided to “choice” her in to Blanchard Memorial School in Boxborough.

“All the other Acton schools’ full-day programs were filled and we were low on the waiting list,” said Silbert. “In Boxborough, there’s a full-day option for all three kindergarten classes. It just ended up being the most appealing option for us.”

And while the change in schools was not originally intended, Silbert said she appreciates the flexibility.

“We love and it’s worked out well for our older daughter, but we’re also open to continuing at Blanchard” with Jada, Silbert said.

Learn and Play Preschool owner Stacey Regan said she has seen “hundreds” of Acton children transition from early childhood to kindergarten and that the growth she witnesses as children get ready for the big move up is “amazing.”

“Right before our eyes, they transform from toddlers into independent, confident, social children,” said Regan. “They frequently pick up on their ABCs and 123s but far more important is the social and emotional development which prepares them for kindergarten. If they know how to make friends, cope with a variety of social situations and feel comfortable in a classroom environment, then we feel we have done our job.”

And it’s a transformation Regan is quite familiar with in her personal life as well—last week marked her fourth child’s first day of kindergarten at , which Regan also attended as a child. While Regan said that having three older siblings helped 5-year-old Evan keep his nerves in check, he had some trouble getting on the bus during orientation, but has been fine ever since—as has his mom.

“I just went on the (orientation) bus ride with him,” said Regan. “And after that, because he wasn’t emotional or sad, neither was I.”