Kindergarten!!

[rdhdsnippet]

So the beginning of kindergarten is nearly upon us and I was wondering if any of my friends had any good ideas for special things to do to mark the event, and/or perhaps traditions to start that go on as "first day of school" each year?

Comments

[little_e_]

Take a picture of kidlet in a new set of clothes in the same spot each year, then look later at how he's grown?

[rdhdsnippet]

I'm thinking a "cool kid" mommy-picked outfit is definitely in the cards. Why oh why is there such a dearth of fashionable boy's clothing??? :(

[little_e_]

This bugs me SO MUCH. Girls get cute, pretty clothes. Boys get ugly clothes.

[magentametrix]

That even bothers my 16 y.o. son!

Yes, pix in the new clothes.

[redhotlips]

It sounds silly but one of my favourite traditions growing up was that the morning of the first day of school we'd each have a new pencil sharpened and placed on our placemat at our spot at the table for breakfast. Sometimes there were funny patterns or designs on the pencil, sometimes sparkly, sometimes funny (a huge 2 foot long one, a rubber bendy one) but each year that new pencil was something "fun" to motivate me to sit at a desk (instead of run outside) and write.

That and dinner on the first night home from school was whatever I wanted cooked - my favourite meal.

[free_of_whip]

Well, I remember what happened with my five-year-old, but it's probably not helpful. When we went to register him for kindergarten, I carefully showed him which route he would be taking to get to school. On the first day of school, I went to walk him to school. He told me firmly, "I know how to get to school. You walk a different way, and I'll see you there." By the second day, he didn't want me even meeting him there.

[rdhdsnippet]

Yeah, not a prayer of that happening. He may not have gotten my sense of direction, but he's still related to me, so I figure he shouldn't be sent anywhere without a fully functioning GPS for the next couple decades...

[free_of_whip]

The funniest part was actually the next year. My then husband and I were talking about who should go with him on the first day, when he announced that he wanted to go by himself. We quizzed him on things like how he was going to find the correct room, and he seemed to have it all figured out, so we finally let him, but we were very nervous about it.

That evening, we asked him how it had gone. The conversation went something like this:

Me: So, did you find your room all right?
Him (impatiently): Of course!
Me: And did any other kids come without their parents?
Him: No.
Me: And did your teacher ask where your parents were?
Him: Yes.
Me: And what did you tell her?
Him: I told her I didn't bring them.

I'm pretty sure that any of the other kids would have expressed that as, "They didn't bring me." But my son always had a unique way of looking at things.