Going new school
Following the transition to kindergarten.Following the transition to kindergarten.
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
My baby is certainly no longer that. I had taken to calling him my little boy, but that won’t do now, either. According to Sam, he is a big boy now. He’s going to be in kindergarten after all.
And therein lies both my excitement and my trepidation. Sam is starting a new phase of his life, and he doesn’t even realize it. I’m happy because he is becoming such an interesting person and I know that what he learns in school will only add to that. I also know that as school becomes a bigger part of his life, I will become less so. That’s the way it’s supposed to be, I know, but it still makes me sad.
Sam says he’s excited about kindergarten “because I am” and “it sounds like fun.” If only I had asked him about something more interesting, like cars or trains.
The experience of getting my oldest child ready for kindergarten is a lot different than I imagined it would be when he was a baby.
He’s not going to a traditional school so a lot of things are different. He’s been going to preschool part-time at Children’s House Montessori in Little Rock and that’s where he’s going for kindergarten. That’s a good thing because he already knows the building and the teachers. When I went to kindergarten the unfamiliarity of the place was a bit frightening, so I’m glad that Sam doesn’t have to go through that. But I’m disappointed because we don’t get to shop for school supplies. Isn’t that the best part of going back to school? Because they already have the Montessori materials, there is nothing we need to buy except perhaps a new lunch box and backpack. Oh, and some new clothes. Kids really do grow like weeds.
But even though the school is familiar, some things will be different this year. School is mandatory now. No more playing hooky to go to the park or on vacation. He has to go every day now, not just because the state says so, but because his dad and I say so.
I know that most people who have “big” boys and girls going to kindergarten this year will be sending them to a traditional school so I talked to the new principal at Lakewood Elementary in North Little Rock to see what they can expect.
To help ease the transition for students and parents, “We have an open house the Friday before [school starts] so they can meet the teacher and bring their school supplies,” said Principal Sara Logan.
“We know how hard a transition it is,” she said. So on the first day, parents are allowed to go into the classroom with their child and stay as long as they want, until they feel comfortable leaving.
“We have a small window in the door” so parents can linger in the hall, Logan said.
So what happens after you leave your baby, um, I mean big kid?
“The teachers do lots of observations to see where [the students] are. They play catch-up if needed. They also do a lot of small group and individual instruction.”
The first day is especially fun Logan said.
“They play games, like the name game and number games. They also have P.E. and music.”
“It’s a lot of getting acquainted with each other and the school,” Logan said.
The teachers also go over the rules and everything else about the school.
Logan said one teacher at Lakewood Elementary takes her class on a “gingerbread man” tour of the school. There are gingerbread men to find in the school office, the cafeteria and the library among other places.
Logan said the kindergartners adjust fairly quickly after their parents leave.
“Everybody loves their kindergarten teacher,” she said.
Like me, Virginia Porta, an engineer at the state Highway and Transportation Department, has a son who will be starting kindergarten this fall.
“We’re excited. We may be more excited than him,” Porta said of her only child, Benjamin. He’ll be attending Williams Traditional Magnet Elementary in the Little Rock School District.
“We live close to the school and toward the end of the school year we told him ‘Next year you’re going to go to this school,’” Porta said.
She and her husband have been taking Benjamin to the school’s playground and trying to prepare him for the fact that kindergarten is much different than preschool and “that it’s not all toys.”
So is Benjamin excited about going to kindergarten?
“I think he’s excited.”
Porta said she thinks Benjamin is excited about kindergarten but she’s not sure because he doesn’t talk about it much. She thinks that will change as the first day of school draws near.
To help get everybody ready, Porta said she bought the book The Night Before Kindergarten to read to Benjamin. But after she read it, “I thought ‘Oh my God. I’m not ready for this.’”
She and her husband have been doing many things along the way to get Benjamin ready to tackle kindergarten. He attended preschool for two years, and his parents read to him every night.
As Aug. 20, the first day of school, approaches, Porta has been talking to Benjamin about school more. She’s getting him involved in things like shopping for school supplies and clothes so he’ll get excited and to cut down on his anxiety.
Porta and her husband also have been volunteering at the school this summer “so we get a better feel for stuff at the school.”
“We hope that if he sees our effort to get involved he’ll see [school] as important.”
“There are so many things to do and you wonder if you’re doing enough. I try to think about what my parents did,” she said.
“You do your best to prepare, buckle up and hope you survive.”
sidebar on getting ready for kindergarten
HED: Kindergarten 101
The Arkansas Department of Human Services gives these tips in its “Getting Ready for Kindergarten” calendar:
Practice going to kindergarten
- Begin to gather school supplies for your child.
- Play school with your child. Take turns being the teacher. Ride in the bus or car, read stories, sing songs, draw pictures, play outdoors, eat lunch, and play a game.
- Eat a meal on trays with your child. Encourage your child to carry his or her own tray to the table and return the tray to the kitchen after the meal. Or eat a meal from lunch boxes and bags. Show your child what can be thrown away after eating and what should be brought back home.
- Pretend to take your child to school. With your child, think of lots of ways to say goodbye. Decide how you will say goodbye to each other on the first day of kindergarten.
Visit your child’s school and preview school activities
Attend your school’s family open house or “meet the teacher day.” Here are some things to do when you visit.
- Talk with the teacher. Try to find out something interesting that you or your child have in common with him or her.
- Explore the classroom. Look at the books and materials, find out where the children store backpacks and hang coats.
- Find out about the daily schedule for your child’s class. For example, when do they have story time, lunch, outdoor play and rest time?
- Locate the restrooms and water fountains.
- Look for the cafeteria, the playground, the principal’s office, the nurse’s room, media center and other special features of your school.
After your visit, talk about what you saw. Draw pictures or write stories to help you think about your visit. Answer any questions that your child may have.
Maintain predictable family routines
- Establish a regular bedtime for your child.
- Be prepared for your morning “before school” time. Getting everyone up and off to school can be hectic. Planning can eliminate some of those morning hassles.
- Designate a place to collect things that need to go to school tomorrow. For example, put everything in your child’s backpack and keep the backpack beside the door.
- Before bedtime, talk with your child about what clothes he or she will wear tomorrow. Be sure that everything is ready.
- Give yourself enough time. Setting the alarm 10 minutes earlier can make a big difference in your morning.
- Have pleasant conversations with your child on the way to school or as you wait for the bus.
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