The Shooting Stars

Most parents look forward to the day when their child takes the first steps into kindergarten. The transition for their child is exciting and some parents have been known to shed a few tears when this day comes. When my daughter enters elementary school this fall, I know without a doubt that I will be attending the "cookies and cry" session kindly hosted by the principal in the library there. My eyes run over with tears when I allow myself to think about this exciting first day of school that is coming soon.

Before that day approaches, I know some other tears will be shed when she says goodbye to her friends and teachers in the Shooting Stars preschool class at the Child Care Center. Chatting with the site director is part of our daily routine when we sign in each morning. How do you say goodbye to caregivers who have been partners with you in preparing your child to take on the world? How do you give an appropriate thank you that articulates your deep appreciation? How do you say good luck to the other families with whom you have celebrated numerous birthdays, field trips, potlucks and shared other important milestones?

The Shooting Stars have soared to some exciting heights this year. They traveled across the solar system when they learned about the sun, the moon and the Milky Way. They learned about how the Space Shuttle works and why its missions are important. They presented group oral presentations about an assigned planet and made paper mache models of each. Their colorful planets still hang above their heads every day as they play, nap and learn.

The Shooting Stars learned about safety rules and now in our own home, safety rules! My daughter has demonstrated how to stop, drop and roll in case of fire, and I get weekly lectures about buckling my seat belt when I get in the car. They sing along with Clair while she plays the guitar and they've discovered that Tonya gives the most lovable hugs.

They even traveled back in time to the Crustaceous period and beyond to learn about the mighty dinosaurs that made our planet their home. They have discovered reptiles and how to take care of Newt, the class salamander, and Sparky, the class guinea pig. Insects, our own physiology--you name it, they covered it! They journeyed across campus to the university greenhouse and to the downtown library to enjoy a magical puppet show. I have marveled at how much Katie has learned and how much I have also learned in the past year.

Besides writing their names and other interesting words in their journals and expressing themselves in the Art Center, they have learned how to be good citizens, how to listen, how to serve their own lunch at the lunch table, how to raise their hand and how to be a good friend.

When anyone inquires about where my daughter goes to school, she proudly announces, "I go to University." And our university ties do run deep. She was a patient at Children's Hospital when she was six months old. She had surgery to repair a tethered spinal cord which was extremely successful. And she recently told an aunt that she wants to come back someday to go to college here. I can only keep my fingers crossed.

One morning when we arrived at CCC, we discovered one of her classmates (following in her mother's footsteps who is a physician at UMC) presiding over an operating room theater. The procedure was being conducted on a classmate/patient on a sleep mat/surgical table and the mini head surgeon was being assisted by numerous surgeons and OR nurses. Everything was draped, plastic makeshift surgical instruments were laid out and all were wearing scrubs with their hair covered appropriately. She was allowed to quickly scrub in. This was another uniquely Vanderbilt moment, one that's hard to forget and wonderful to picture!

I'll miss the diversity of the CCC. My daughter's friends are citizens of the world and when you are only 4 and 5, you don't see differences, you only see your best friends. The teachers in the preschool have prepared the Shooting Stars well for any challenges they may encounter in kindergarten; sharing books and supplies, raising their hands for their turn, celebrating traditions and practices of various cultures and learning about worlds beyond the one we live in.

I will shed more than one tear when we say goodbye to Rhonda, Clair and Tonya and the other teachers, Jesse and Ashli, who have helped in the caregiving of my daughter, and I strongly emphasize care. I'll miss our daily routine of driving north on the lookout for VW bugs and playing the "Punchbug" game. I'll miss arriving on campus together for a day of work and pre-school. I'll miss the ability of being able to leave my desk and walk over to the VCCC to check on her if she is sick. And I'll miss enjoying an entertaining lunch with her and her classmates and the sunny walk back across Campus. I'll miss the alliances I have formed with the other parents who arrive on the same schedule as we do. I'll miss the sweetness of the many children that my daughter has been lucky to have as friends.

I'll miss the security of knowing my daughter has spent her day in a place where early education and the well-being of its charges is a number one priority. Of the many benefits the employees of University have available to them, it's the one that I have benefited from and enjoyed the most. Hearts and Minds have a slightly different context here, but the meaning is as extremely important.

At the recent Shooting Stars end-of-the- year picnic and celebration, the students and parents feasted on a great cornucopia of food and enjoyed a sunlit evening at Dragon Park filled with a few last hours to spend together as a class. Teachers Clair and Tonya, the wisest stars in the classroom, handed out awards for Reading, Math, Paleontology, Art, Friendship, Sports, and Science. Each Shooting Star student was delighted to receive an award that celebrated the achievements of their young hearts and minds. Our group of parents clapped and cheered as if the students had walked across a graduation stage with honors. One parent voiced the thought that many of us shared: "I hope that after being in this classroom, kindergarten won't be a disappointment."

Thanks to CCC, the Shooting Stars are well on their way to the brightest of horizons because they've helped not only the students, but this parent, prepare for the journey and entry into the elementary school stratosphere. I can in a minute way relate to the parent of an astronaut who must shed tears of pride, joy and grateful remembrance of teachers and instructors who made a difference, the subject that may have planted a seed and sparked a dream when they watch their child take the first steps onto the launch pad. The teachers and caregivers at the CCC have been part of our mission control, working as a team with the parents of the Shooting Stars, as we closely monitor these bright lights that streak across the nighttime skies of our lives.

Originally published in the VUMC, House Organ, August 2004.