Wow, kindergarten is not like I remember it. My fondest memories of kindergarten are the new red shoes I got; the giant playhouse in the corner with all the kid-size appliances and accoutrements you could ask for; my own little mat to "rest" on; and my beautiful, blonde, sweet teacher, Mrs. Albright. I'm sure there was more to it than that, but in my hazy memory, school didn't really feel like school until first grade.
School started last Tuesday, and on the second day, a note came home in Justin's folder saying that he hadn't been following directions, and had been telling his teacher "No" when she asked him to do things. It was really quite a shock to be on the receiving end of a note like that on only the second day in kindergarten. We had a long conversation that evening before, during and after dinner about the right and wrong way to behave at school. The rest of the week passed uneventfully, thank goodness. This past Monday went fine too, so it was easy to imagine we'd turned the corner.
Well, ha ha, not so much. Yesterday, another note came home in the folder that our little firecracker was talking in class while the teacher was giving instructions, he didn't finish his work during class time to had to use free play to finish it, and wouldn't stop talking and be quiet in the hallway even when reminded. As a parent, it's just so disappointing to be on the receiving end of such information. The poor kid is wiped out after he comes home every day, and it just seems mean to chastise him about what happened earlier in the day when he's so exhausted. Still, he needs to understand that certain choices that he makes have consequences, and to also know that what happens at school doesn't stay at school. But honestly, not finishing his work and having to use free play to finish it? This isn't the kindergarten I was expecting!
I like this era for all of the communication vehicles available to teachers and parents. We are able to email and text messages back and forth, and receive grades online via the web. There is a newsletter that comes home every Thursday via email. I've been corresponding back and forth via email with the kindergarten teacher to discuss these issues as they arise and it's nice to receive that immediate feedback. I just hope the immediate feedback to our son results in more orderly behavior in kindergarten. Onward and upward!
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
First day of school
I never realized how hectic the first day of school is for parents. I remember as kid having various degrees of nervousness and excitement. As an adult, I was but a casual observer, annoyed with the increase in traffic and headaches in getting to work due to back to school hubbub. As a devoted aunt, all I had to do was admire the pictures of my nieces' and nephews' glowing faces and wish them well. Even daycare and preschool dropoffs pale in comparison to the "real thing".
There is orientation/Meet the Teacher to attend. There is a mountain of paperwork to complete. A multitude of checks to write. And to top it all off, you have to figure out the best time to wake up in order to perfectly time getting dressed, having breakfast, mediating disagreements, cajoling children, and buckling car seats. Today we had to build in time to take pictures on top of all that nonsense.
We managed to do it with time to spare today, but I was ready for a nap by 8 AM. WOW! What an ordeal!
We did not receive the information about the bus schedule prior to the start of school today, so I drove both kids to school and then returned twice more today to pick each of them up. Tyler was done at 10:45 AM, and dismissal was quick and orderly. He came running out to see me, wearing a crown he made in school today with his stickers that he chose to stick and his name on it. His teacher said he came into his classroom, just sobbing his heart out. That really tugged at my heart, but she said he settled down after about 10 minutes and had a really good day. He said he had a good time :)
Justin got out of school at 3:00 PM. I left a little early because I wasn't sure how long it would take to get there. I ended up getting there with about 15 minutes to spare, but it was a good thing because there was an incredible sea of vehicles waiting for exiting students.
The school kept things orderly, but it was kind of confusing for this first-timer. It was cute watching the kindergarteners come out hand-in-hand with their teachers, looking for their moms and dads. Just as they walked out the door, the skies opened and poured down rain on everyone. Not nice, Mother Nature. What was that all about?
Justin reported that he had a "great" day. I asked him what he did, and in true tween style, he said, "I don't remember." When we got home, his dad asked him what he did in school. Finally he said, "I learned. That's what I did. I just learned!"
Tomorrow, he will ride the bus both to and from school. That's going to be a little intimidating for both of us, I think. I'll be glad when this first week is over and we have a little experience under our belts.
There is orientation/Meet the Teacher to attend. There is a mountain of paperwork to complete. A multitude of checks to write. And to top it all off, you have to figure out the best time to wake up in order to perfectly time getting dressed, having breakfast, mediating disagreements, cajoling children, and buckling car seats. Today we had to build in time to take pictures on top of all that nonsense.
We managed to do it with time to spare today, but I was ready for a nap by 8 AM. WOW! What an ordeal!
We did not receive the information about the bus schedule prior to the start of school today, so I drove both kids to school and then returned twice more today to pick each of them up. Tyler was done at 10:45 AM, and dismissal was quick and orderly. He came running out to see me, wearing a crown he made in school today with his stickers that he chose to stick and his name on it. His teacher said he came into his classroom, just sobbing his heart out. That really tugged at my heart, but she said he settled down after about 10 minutes and had a really good day. He said he had a good time :)
Justin got out of school at 3:00 PM. I left a little early because I wasn't sure how long it would take to get there. I ended up getting there with about 15 minutes to spare, but it was a good thing because there was an incredible sea of vehicles waiting for exiting students.
The school kept things orderly, but it was kind of confusing for this first-timer. It was cute watching the kindergarteners come out hand-in-hand with their teachers, looking for their moms and dads. Just as they walked out the door, the skies opened and poured down rain on everyone. Not nice, Mother Nature. What was that all about?
Justin reported that he had a "great" day. I asked him what he did, and in true tween style, he said, "I don't remember." When we got home, his dad asked him what he did in school. Finally he said, "I learned. That's what I did. I just learned!"
Tomorrow, he will ride the bus both to and from school. That's going to be a little intimidating for both of us, I think. I'll be glad when this first week is over and we have a little experience under our belts.
Saturday, August 18, 2012
And so it begins
Our son's journey to kindergarten was a bumpy one for my husband and me, for various reasons. The biggest reason is that I'm a huge procrastinator. I kind of thrive on the theory that if I purposely don't think about things, they won't happen. Not so much when you're talking about kindergarten. Kids grow up, whether you want them to or not, and my firstborn heads off to school this year.
Justin was born in early August. As soon as he arrived, I started worrying about kindergarten. My sister has three kids, all born in the late summer, and she and my brother-in-law made the decision to have their two boys wait until they were six to start kindergarten. My brother's son also has a summer birthday, but he started kindergarten when he was five years old, and has struggled in school. I wanted to learn from their examples and mistakes. So true to my usual fashion, I buried my head in the sand and told myself I had years to figure out whether to enroll him at age five or six, and promptly forgot about it.
Aside from deciding whether or not to redshirt him for kindergarten, I didn't figure I had many decisions to make. I'd always planned on public school education for our children, just like my husband and I experienced. I grew up attending a rival district from the one where we currently live, and I always sort of thought we'd be living somewhere else when my kids started school. I didn't want them to attend the public schools here just because I still carry the rivalry that I remember from my high school days. As it happens, we didn't win the lottery and we didn't move to a bigger house in a "better" school district, so there was another wrinkle in my unwritten plan, hidden in the back of my mind. No matter, I thought, the district is still rated "Excellent". Enter the tough economy....and suddenly, school levies weren't being passed by the voters, programs were cut, teachers and administrators laid off, etc. For each levy that failed, another blow fell that resulted in something being cut or eliminated, and I started to worry whether the schools would be able to remain "Excellent" without so many resources.
"Never mind for now," I told myself, "he's not going to kindergarten till he's six. We have lots more time to think about it." Even at his four year well check, I declined the vaccines he'd need before kindergarten, still thinking I had some time to finalize the grand plan.
Well, my son Justin is quite the firecracker. Things very rarely go as planned when it comes to that child. He's a very spirited, imaginative little boy, and he gets in trouble as often as I blink my eyes. It's worse when he's bored. He's been attending some form of daycare/preschool/pre-kindergarten since he was an infant, because he needs stuff to DO. He's had his fair share of trouble-making at his school over the past 5 years, and his dad and I have had several "talks" with his teachers and director about how to best keep him challenged so that he will behave. I finally had the epiphany that it would be in his best interest to start school at five. My husband agreed and then we looked at the calendar and realized that it was late February, and registration takes place in March. Procrastination wins again! I had less than a couple weeks to decide WHERE the best place would be for Justin to attend kindergarten.
Conversation with neighbors quickly enlightened us to the changes made to the kindergarten program in our public school system. Rather than attending half or full days 5 days a week, cuts in the budget called for a creative solution. Kindergarteners would be divided in two groups, with half of them attending full days on Mondays and Wednesdays, while the other half attending full days on Tuesdays and Thursdays. There's some kind of funky formula for which group attends on what Fridays. It was all much too convoluted for my overtaxed brain. We quickly looked into the four Catholic school programs closest to us for their offerings. The information was really overwhelming; there were so many things to consider. Because we don't currently attend church on a regular basis, we had to become okay with a religious-based education for our kids if that was the type of school we ultimately chose. It became clear pretty quickly which programs we could afford and which ones we didn't want to pursue.
Ultimately, we narrowed it down to two choices: the public kindergarten, or the St. Veronica parish school. Since we'd already eliminated the other three Catholic schools, cost wasn't a factor in our final decision between St. Veronica and the public school. We compared the kindergarten curriculum offered by both programs, the school schedules, and considered the opportunities and programs available for students as they move up in elementary school. The right choice for us, especially for Justin, became readily apparent. After we made up our minds, we had to scramble to get the registration packet completed and turned in for consideration. We sweated a few bullets as we waited for an answer whether or not he'd be accepted into the program, and what we'd do if he wasn't. Thankfully, we got an acceptance letter a week or so later. It was one of those moments when you feel as if the weight of the world has been lifted from your shoulders -- we had made the right choice.
Justin was born in early August. As soon as he arrived, I started worrying about kindergarten. My sister has three kids, all born in the late summer, and she and my brother-in-law made the decision to have their two boys wait until they were six to start kindergarten. My brother's son also has a summer birthday, but he started kindergarten when he was five years old, and has struggled in school. I wanted to learn from their examples and mistakes. So true to my usual fashion, I buried my head in the sand and told myself I had years to figure out whether to enroll him at age five or six, and promptly forgot about it.
Aside from deciding whether or not to redshirt him for kindergarten, I didn't figure I had many decisions to make. I'd always planned on public school education for our children, just like my husband and I experienced. I grew up attending a rival district from the one where we currently live, and I always sort of thought we'd be living somewhere else when my kids started school. I didn't want them to attend the public schools here just because I still carry the rivalry that I remember from my high school days. As it happens, we didn't win the lottery and we didn't move to a bigger house in a "better" school district, so there was another wrinkle in my unwritten plan, hidden in the back of my mind. No matter, I thought, the district is still rated "Excellent". Enter the tough economy....and suddenly, school levies weren't being passed by the voters, programs were cut, teachers and administrators laid off, etc. For each levy that failed, another blow fell that resulted in something being cut or eliminated, and I started to worry whether the schools would be able to remain "Excellent" without so many resources.
"Never mind for now," I told myself, "he's not going to kindergarten till he's six. We have lots more time to think about it." Even at his four year well check, I declined the vaccines he'd need before kindergarten, still thinking I had some time to finalize the grand plan.
Well, my son Justin is quite the firecracker. Things very rarely go as planned when it comes to that child. He's a very spirited, imaginative little boy, and he gets in trouble as often as I blink my eyes. It's worse when he's bored. He's been attending some form of daycare/preschool/pre-kindergarten since he was an infant, because he needs stuff to DO. He's had his fair share of trouble-making at his school over the past 5 years, and his dad and I have had several "talks" with his teachers and director about how to best keep him challenged so that he will behave. I finally had the epiphany that it would be in his best interest to start school at five. My husband agreed and then we looked at the calendar and realized that it was late February, and registration takes place in March. Procrastination wins again! I had less than a couple weeks to decide WHERE the best place would be for Justin to attend kindergarten.
Conversation with neighbors quickly enlightened us to the changes made to the kindergarten program in our public school system. Rather than attending half or full days 5 days a week, cuts in the budget called for a creative solution. Kindergarteners would be divided in two groups, with half of them attending full days on Mondays and Wednesdays, while the other half attending full days on Tuesdays and Thursdays. There's some kind of funky formula for which group attends on what Fridays. It was all much too convoluted for my overtaxed brain. We quickly looked into the four Catholic school programs closest to us for their offerings. The information was really overwhelming; there were so many things to consider. Because we don't currently attend church on a regular basis, we had to become okay with a religious-based education for our kids if that was the type of school we ultimately chose. It became clear pretty quickly which programs we could afford and which ones we didn't want to pursue.
Ultimately, we narrowed it down to two choices: the public kindergarten, or the St. Veronica parish school. Since we'd already eliminated the other three Catholic schools, cost wasn't a factor in our final decision between St. Veronica and the public school. We compared the kindergarten curriculum offered by both programs, the school schedules, and considered the opportunities and programs available for students as they move up in elementary school. The right choice for us, especially for Justin, became readily apparent. After we made up our minds, we had to scramble to get the registration packet completed and turned in for consideration. We sweated a few bullets as we waited for an answer whether or not he'd be accepted into the program, and what we'd do if he wasn't. Thankfully, we got an acceptance letter a week or so later. It was one of those moments when you feel as if the weight of the world has been lifted from your shoulders -- we had made the right choice.
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