“What we must remember above all in the education of our children is that their love of life should never weaken.”

— Italian Author Natalia Ginzburg

I came upon this quote yesterday, and it so succinctly summed up what I want for Bean, as well as my fears, as we enter the school years.

With school starting, have you all been thinking about it too? While I know that the new preschool will be incredible for her, and I’m so excited at all the opportunities she’ll have there (baking! And gardening! And other kids!!!), there is a part of me that feels so unsure and wants to pull back. She’s got her entire childhood left to go to school, aren’t we supposed to be outside, traipsing around the city, going to museums and to the beach, for a little longer?

These days, she wakes up excited to take on our latest adventure. “What are we going to do today?” She wakes up knowing fun and excitement and new experiences are ahead. I don’t want that enthusiasm and wanderlust to end.

My own memory of school was the monotony of days, pining to be outside doing anything but sitting in this stupid chair. ‘Love of life’ is not exactly how I would have described it. It’ll be a goal to maintain our collective excitement of learning and seeking out new experiences, with now the foundation of formal schooling. (I’ll just need like a LOT of energy, right?)

Parents with school-aged kids, do you feel this push and pull of life vs school? How have you managed it?