<p><strong>We Discuss:</strong></p><p> </p><p>Kindergarten in the past in comparison to now (each sharing memories of our own start of school)</p><p>Sharing stories of our child’s start to the school years </p><p>The awareness of making a mistake being unacceptable and when/how that begins</p><p>The longing to belong and not be rejected as a subconscious survival mechanism </p><p>The normalization of separation of young children from their families </p><p>The discomfort of separation from a parent being labelled “ separation anxiety” </p><p>How reluctance to go to nursery school or kindergarten can be about more than separation anxiety, but also just the particular environment not being a right</p><p>That, even though we have gained so much information about child development in the last few decades, we have moved farther away from having kindergarten set up in a way that actually fits that development </p><p>What might be behind the resistance to making a change for our children and opting out of the school system – so many families are struggling but the it’s hard to make the change </p><p>That the comment “readiness for school”  is often more about a child being able to handle it then being an environment where they would optimally thrive</p><p>How uncomfortable it is to make a choice that’s different from the masses</p><p>How just knowing one other homeschool family can make the difference and offer some sort of framework for living outside of the system</p><p>How school is not just the specific hours the children are there but all the pieces around it like special events, friends, etc</p><p>Kids who appear to enjoy school or go along with it, but aren’t necessarily thriving in the way they might with a more individualized environment</p><p>Really well thought out baby, toddler, and preschool programming, and resources, and the wish that they extended into the school years</p><p>A mix of public and private offerings </p><p>Inclusive and exclusive homeschool activities – the trickiness of finding belonging yet also a group that is sometimes small or limited enough to work for our kids </p><p>Flexible, community-friendly schools </p><p>Flexible, community-based learning </p><p>The capacity and energy needed to build and maintain community </p><p>The possibility of parents whose kids are older offering their time, resources and presence to younger families </p><p>Whether kindergarten is necessary </p><p>What other community-based ways there might be to curate </p><p>That early learning and development are much more nuanced than the concrete concepts and skills that are most commonly talked about</p><p>Early social-emotional intelligence and critical thinking and the everyday, natural interactions that provide a model </p><p>The importance of kids feeling safe in order to learn and develop to their full potential </p><p> </p><p><strong>Resources:</strong></p><p><br></p><p><a href="https://www.everlearning.ca/podcast/high-school-diplomas-college-degrees-and-future-careers-is-there-more-than-one-way/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><u>High School Diplomas, College Degrees, and Future Careers: Is There More Than One Way?  Erin from Ever Learning and Missy Willis from Let ‘em Go Barefoot</u></a></p><p><a href="https://www.everlearning.ca/podcast/practical-ideas-for-building-and-contributing-to-community-2/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><u>Practical Ideas for Building and Contributing to Community, Virtual Kitchen Table, Episode 29</u></a></p><p><a href="https://www.everlearning.ca/podcast/homeschooling-community-finding-sustaining-and-how-it-evolves/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><u>Homeschooling Community: Finding, Sustaining and How it Evolves, Episode 15</u></a></p><p><a href="https://www.everlearning.ca/podcast/living-and-learning-in-community-2/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><u>Choice in Education: Living and Learning in Community, Episode 3</u></a></p><p><a href="https://letemgobarefoot.substack.com/p/are-unschoolers-bringing-back-vintage" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><u>Are Unschoolers Bringing Back Vintage Kindergarten? – Missy Willis from Let’em Go Barefoot</u></a></p><p><a href="https://www.karasanderson.com/im-just-so-glad-he-didnt-sit-on-the-line/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><u>I’m just so glad he didn’t sit on the line. – Kara S. Anderson</u></a></p><p><br></p>