I Really Did Learn All I Needed In Kindergarten

This week is Teacher Appreciation Week. If you’ve got a kid in school, you probably couldn’t miss it, with all the hoopla about celebrating your kid’s teacher.  And, don’t get me wrong, it’s all well-deserved. I mean, sure, we parents got them through the ABCs and how to count to ten (and the over-achieving parents made it to 100) but spelling, explaining why “rough” and “through” do not rhyme, when to use a comma, carrying the 1 (though it’s not called that anymore) and long division?  And then the harder stuff like chemical equations, ancient world history, and math involving area under a curve?  Yeah, home-schooling is not an option for the sanity of this household.  Summer workbooks and homework is about our limit. So 

THANK YOU! to my kids’ teachers.

During this week, I came across my kindergarten report card. Wow. What a difference some years make in the expectations of our kids.  I actually was evaluated on properly using scissors and my ability to skip and hop.  These are such important skills for life!  I don’t hop much these days, but I might skip a little bit more than a woman my age is expected to and I definitely use scissors a lot.

Here’s a few other life lessons I learned in Kindergarten.

• I claim only my share of attention.  Obviously, I was in the pre-selfie and reality show generation.
• I enjoy books, stories, and poems. This has never changed, thank goodness.  As well, this is  crucial for a writer.
• I take care of my personal needs.  I need to do that a little bit more these days and make myself a priority.  Not all the time, but sometimes us moms need to remember to put ourselves first.
• I express myself with art materials.  The hundreds of skeins of yarn and shelves of craft materials is proof that’s still a key part of my life.
• I am courteous and considerate of others. I do my best.

On the explanation of the report card to parents, it notes that “kindergarten introduces [students] to school as a happy place.”  I know school has changed a lot since knowing your colors was considered an accomplishment for 5-year olds, but I do like to think that children can look to their school as their happy place. And thank you to the teachers that make it so.

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