Sandybee–Thank you so much for your outlook from the teacher’s side! You’re very reassuring. Volunteering is definitely one of the things I’ve been thinking of, and I had no idea that I’d be able to get phone #s from a room mom.

SBird–Aw, thanks!

Miss C.–Har! The thought of driving the dotter off to school 35 miles each way every day is…um…hairraising.

1. It takes children about 2 weeks to adjust to going to school whether they come in at the beginning of the year or in the middle of the semester. In my class this year, 1/2 of the kids knew each other from pre-school and the small community where the school is–the others didn’t know anyone.

2. There are one heck of a lot of rules and routines kinders have to learn out the chute during the first days of school. Classroom routines, recess routines, lunch routines, playground routines, etc and all the routines have rules to go along with them. It’s a lot for a child of 4 or 5 to have to learn and learn quickly. I keep a page of items I need to teach them on the first day. It’s amazing that we have time to actually ‘do something’ other than listen to me tell them about the rules. But the key is that word routine. Doing the same things the same way every day leads to confidence and then independence. When a child is confident in what they are supposed to do and how to do it, making friends becomes easier.

3. EVERY child tells me at some point in the year that they have no friends and nobody likes them. I have seen children play quite happily all day long and then tell me that no one likes them. Most of the time they are looking for reassurance/attention from me, or they are tired. Kinder can be hard as seen through their eyes. Most of the time I give them a quick hug, a listening ear, and perhaps an alternate activity to try. I also keep a stuffed bear around that the kids can tell their troubles to. I tell them that “Miss B.” and I have tea every day after school and she tells me their troubles and together we troubleshoot them. Hey, it works for me.

4. Volunteering is wonderful if you can fit it into your schedule. You will get to know the other children, too. You will also get a chance to see interactions between kids for yourself. A child’s perception of how things are going is usually based on a single event of the day rather than looking at the whole picture, if you know what I mean.

5. As a teacher, I am not allowed to give out family phone numbers for play dates due to privacy issues. But, the room mother might be able to if permission is given in writing.

6. Join the PTA. Also, most schools also have a parent advisory group of some sort in addition to the PTA. The more involved you are, the more families you will meet.

Sorry. I’m probably telling you things you already know. I really don’t mean to lecture. I give my parents a 10 page booklet on things they might want to know about school. If you can’t tell, I’m verbal.

I’ve always felt that there should be a rule for parents: Being a parent will be easy. However, there is no such rule. Kids don’t come with an instruction booklet. Do not beat yourself up over things you cannot control. Your child will in all probability be just fine given time. Trust me. Kids, for the most part, are much more flexible and adaptable than we think.

As for me, I come home and find that 6:30pm is past my bed time. Being in kinder is a lot of work for everyone….especially in a class of 13 boys and 6 girls! I have got some pesky boys this year.

Have a great school year!

And I love the new masthead. Wow.