Monday, August 18, 2014

my 4th first day of kindergarten


At the end of yet another first day of kindergarten, I'm reminded of some things that I seem to block out every year:

-Patience is a virtue. No...really, it is. And there are certain times of the day that patience doesn't come easy...like after the 100th time you've explained to cranky 4 and 5 year olds that there is no nap time in kindergarten.

-Beginning kindergartners ask to pee a LOT. And you have to let them, because if you don't, they'll likely pee their pants.

-On the first day of kindergarten, parents WILL randomly show up throughout the day to check up on their child...and more importantly, how you're TREATING their child.

-Public restrooms hold some kind of crazy fascination for little kids.

-You will have to show 21 students how to use a drinking fountain...and even after you show them the proper way to use it, they'll still have a soaking wet shirt for the next two hours.

-Beginning kindergartners do not know how to walk in a line. They just sort of herd around you wherever you go, and it takes 20 minutes to get anywhere because you have to constantly place them back in line.

-Your name is not "Mrs. _________ (fill in the blank with your last name.) It's "Teacher! Teacher!"

-There will be about a million school supplies to sort through. And while you'll be thankful for all of it in a couple months, today it just seems like a huge hassle.

-You will only have 10 minutes to scarf down your lunch, because you have to show your students how to USE the lunchroom and lunch line. And how not to eat like barbarians.

-Little kids don't like to listen. Or follow directions. Or pay attention. They kind of like to do whatever the heck they want. They're like teeny tiny teenagers.

-Even though you called EVERY SINGLE PARENT on Friday afternoon and explained the procedures for the Car Line after school, over half of your parents will want their kid to meet them upstairs for dismissal. And you'll have to explain 11 times that their new kindergartner doesn't know how to get to the office yet (not to mention that students aren't even supposed to be picked up from the office), so to please follow Car Line procedures from now on.

BUT...

All in all it was a pretty decent day. There was only one crier, and that was at lunch when she didn't want me to leave her. It was an exhausting day and I feel like I'll lose my voice by the end of the week, but we know how to walk and sit on the carpet appropriately. We know how to use one pump of soap and push the lever 3 times to get paper towels. We know where our seats are and how to walk to them quietly. We know to walk quietly in the hall with our hands behind our backs (the most important thing we learned today: your hands WILL get you in trouble if you don't control them!) We know our 5 classroom rules, we know what the teacher says when she wants our attention, we know how to play nicely at recess, and we know how to get ready to go at the end of the day (and yes I sprinkled some other stuff in throughout the day too.)

As exhausting as this first week month normally is, I always end up forgetting all about it. I literally block it out. It's always bad, and I know and expect that. But I block out all the details because it's never this tough or exhausting after a while. They just don't know any better. And in a few weeks I'll be so impressed by how far they've come. We'll spend the rest of this week working on rules and procedures, and then I'll start teaching actual "stuff" next week. I have the "troublesome" kids already picked out, so I'm determined to set some expectations and call parents this week if I need to. Because this WILL be a great year!

And just like that...my 4th first day of kindergarten is over!

xoxo, mrs. miller


5 comments:

  1. Awww....a first day of school picture! :) I'm sure it will be 2 steps forward, one step (or sometimes 3 steps) back for a while, but before you know it you will be crying at their graduation!

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    1. Their graduation seems soooooo far away...but I know you're right!

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  2. Is that Bubba on the counter??

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    1. Uh...yeah. I feed him from my protein shake in the morning (and like a bad momma, I let him drink it on the counter.) Today I was getting ready to leave and he was literally laying all sprawled out on the counter like he owns the place...which apparently he does. :)

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  3. I think that you did great on the first day, that was quite a list of things that you got through to them
    Keep up the good work.
    Love ya

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