Kindergarten Musings

We finished our first full month of Kindergarten and we’re still alive and well!  I thought I’d share with you some of the things we’ve I’ve learned this past month as well as some random thoughts.

1.  “E” stands for “Excellent”.  As parents, we would all love our children to have E’s every single day.  As a matter of fact, the first “S” (Satisfactory) Andrew brought home devastated me.  Then I thought about my workplace.  Would I get an E every day?  Nope – I’d likely get a “U” (Unexceptable) for my attitude and wind up in the principal’s office.  Needless to say, an “S” every once in a while is okay. :-)

2.  Kindergarten teachers are organized.  This mom is not.  We’re slowly getting in a routine but it’s quite embarrassing to have to write the teacher and ask for another reading sheet because you’ve misplaced yours.  Twice.  I took it upon myself to scan the latest one in so I can print my own off when if I lose it again.

3.  Making lunches, signing agendas, picking out clothes (both parent’s and children’s) the night before is a must.  Otherwise, be prepared to be a mess in the morning, run out of the door late and have mismatched shoes.

4.  Sight words will be the death of me.  We have a box of 20 words to memorize. I first started quizzing Andrew while he was in the bathtub (he couldn’t escape!!) and quickly grew tired of that.  Thankfully, the weekly schedule they send home has games for learning sight words.  I’ll share some of those with you soon because they’ve been a lifesaver.  Of the 20, there are only 2 we are struggling with - “like” and “this”.  Just think – the next box has 75 words.  Woooohooo!

5.  T-ball is nothing other than a big sandbox.  During Andrew’s first practice he had the others on his team sifting sand through their gloves.  He also rumbled with another kid on his team trying to get the ball.  Good times.

6.  When your child is a social butterfly, he will have a hard time staying out of trouble.  For all of the S’s and N’s (Needs Improvement) Andrew has brought home it’s been for two things - “Talking” and “Not following instructions” which typically equals…. Talking.

7.  The favorite part of my day is dinner.  I remember loving dinnertime as a kid growing up and now, as a parent, I love it even more.  We talk about our highs of the day and lows of the day.  Andrew chooses who goes first, second and third and loves doing it when we have company.  It’s a good way for him to communicate with us and boy, can he communicate!

8.  When learning about manners at school, your child will correct you.  All. Of. The. Time.  “Mommy – you should use please.  Like Please put your shoes where they belong.”  If you don’t use manners and it’s been a long day, you’ll get a lesson in manners through tears and a complete meltdown.

9.  Speaking of meltdowns… phew!  We’re in a meltdown stage.  Andrew is learning some hard lessons.  Poor behavior = not sleeping in mommy and daddy’s bed on a “home night”.  Attitude results in losing books.  And  “N” results in losing games and the long awaited slushy.

10.  To be a good parent, you have to make tough decisions.  This applies to both the Kindergartener and College student.  It’s not enough to be popular, but is so much more important to teach lessons.  We're learning this lesson continuously and coming from someone who always wants things to be rosy, it’s HARD.  Really freaking hard.

So, how about catching up on some happenings??  It’s been a busy month or so and unfortunately I haven’t been carrying my camera everywhere.  I’m lucky I remember to dress myself properly these days!

August - A visit with bloggy friends!

I’m sure you’ve seen pics posted on some other blogs, but Andrew and I took a trip to meet up with some of our favorite people!  Here is a group shot of the kiddos (minus a few) taking a break after some swimming.  The picture of Andrew climbing is at the very end of the day and boy was he tired!

August 22 - Someone turned 5!!!

I can’t believe our baby is now 5!  Seems like just yesterday he was learning to speak English and was in 2T clothes.  He is growing like crazy.  I can’t wait to take him for his check-up (end of this month) to find out how much he has grown.   Mommy and Daddy bought him a skateboard for his birthday.  See – we have lost it!! :-)

 

September - Our little slugger!

We have our first game tomorrow night!  I took a bunch of great pictures on Sunday (before his professional team pictures) but haven’t had a chance to edit them.  Thankfully, he was being silly so I actually got some “real” smiles out of him!

   

Maybe, things will calm down and I’ll be able to post a bit more often!  I’m sure all 2 of you are dying to hear about this little Peanut… :-)

Toodles!
Becky