Kindergarten

Our school district started school yesterday, but in an effort to ease new kindergarteners into the school process, and to give teachers fewer kids to interact with on the first day, kindergarten didn't start until today, and it's a staggered start here. Meaning, today children with last names starting in A-M went, and tomorrow L-Z will go. Then Monday, they'll all go.

We went up last week and paid her school fees, and then Tuesday we walked to the school to look her classroom. She was able to look around the room, and met her teacher - that was a nice surprise! I wanted to give her a couple of small exposures to the school before her first day so at least building, hallway, classroom, and some of the faces wouldn't be quite so new and unfamiliar.

She really had a great first day! And we both did really well with the drop off. Her teacher Mrs. Conchola had the children empty their book bags as they first walked in the door. Glue went in one tub, water colors in another, etc. She had small school boxes for the supplies they'd be using right away. After sorting her supplies and getting her school box with crayons and pencils, she was told to go and find a Clifford picture to color at one of the tables.

By this time there were 8-10 other children sitting down with their parents either sitting or standing next to them already coloring their pictures. I had asked Emily and Sam to sit in the Kindergarten Commons area right outside Becca's classroom where they have pods - tables and chairs for activities (puzzles, coloring, computers, other interactive games, etc.) set up. Emie and Sam were pretty much done with that and were now in the classroom ready to participate with Rebecca.

Becca's walking around with her school box looking at all the empty chairs...

Me "Sweety, What are you looking for?"
R: "I don't see one with my name on it."
Me. "You get to choose where ever you want to sit. You write your name here (pointing to Name:_____________)."

Becca, with total self surety, walks over to an empty table, turns to me and says:

R: "I'm going to sit here. I want to sit by myself for a little while."

And starts writing out her name at the top of her picture.




Okay so all the kids are settled and coloring their pictures, and not a single parent has left yet. None of them. At about the moment I starting to wonder if/panic that I was suppose to stay with Rebecca for her first day, Mrs Conchola tells all the parents the children have a full day and they can be picked up in 3 hours and 20 minutes.

M&M, since I know you're wondering... yes I did use the video camera. I'm still not very good at taking still pictures, running the video camera, and keeping tabs on the children all at the same time. So doing video when I took Rebecca really wasn't possible... so as a compromise, I did video after in front of school. That way I could document in her own words what she did on her first day, then later once I got Sam and Emily down for a short rest, she emptied her backpack and told me more about her day and I got that conversation on video.