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Tell me something you are proud of from today

The transition to kindergarten has been a little more exhausting than I expected. Before school started I was focused on surviving B's meltdowns / regressive behavior and I didn't spend enough time thinking about how the rest of our lives would change, such as becoming a morning person so we don't have to sign in at the principal's office. It's funny because I thought I had prepared myself, but I really hadn't...

On the first day of school we managed to get to the playground before the almost inaudible bell rang (it sounds more like something you use for testing hearing than the loud annoying bells I remember). When the bell rang everyone lined up in front the classrooms. The teacher said something to us in Spanish and pointed a lot. I figured out that we were supposed to find our child's seat. Then there was something that involved a table and I translated the hand motions to mean that we were to put the donated school supplies on the table.

After that there was something about tracing our child's hand on his name card. I was going to ask if it mattered if we did the left or right hand but noticed most people had already started tracing. I traced B's hand, pinned his name tag to his shirt, and then said goodbye. It was very hard to leave the room but the teacher was saying adios and it was clear she wanted us to leave. I left thinking that going to kindergarten looked like a lot more fun that what I had to do that day. I was also very proud that I had figured out what to do in a foreign language.

When I got to the coffee and donuts area with the other parents I was happy to meet everyone and relieved we had done so well with the drop-off. The first person I spoke with said, "I thought it was so cool how the teacher had the kids trace their hands so she could gauge their dexterity." I nodded politely while wondering how quickly I could sign up for a conversational Spanish class.

When I picked B up at school I wanted to know everything about his day. Of course, he didn't have much to say and I didn't want to point out how different his new life is. My trick for finding out one or two things about B's day is to ask him to tell me something he is proud of that he did. I often hear about how he finished his letter worksheet or was able to sit cross legged on the floor. I'm looking forward to our Back-to-School night so I can learn more about what he does during the day.

First day of pre pre school

I was very excited for my daughter's first day of "pre" pre school. She met new children and recognized her teachers from their home visit a few days earlier. They had suggested that I stay the whole morning to ease little A into a life outside home. This was little A's first experience at school/child care. There was a lot of play, snack time, outdoor play and then circle time. Day 2 when I came back for little A, I watched from the observation room and was so proud to see her sitting on her circle time mat listening to the teacher read. She was eager to see me but also eager to go back. Leaving is hard, she does still cry (along with all of the other kids). I am thrilled for her and this new experience and glad I listened to all of the advise I was given (talk about school at home, tell your child you are leaving, give them a time when you will be back, ie. before lunch and always say goodbye when you leave ie. dont sneak out). I love picking her up to hear from the teachers how her morning went and what art/activity is waiting for me to display proudly at home and show her Daddy.

  • By EastCoastMom at 12 Sep 2007 - 07:30
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