Kindergarten -- already??

All I really need to know... I learned in kindergarten.          ~Robert Fulghum

It is almost impossible for me to believe, but my oldest grandchild Addie is starting kindergarten this week. She is excited to ride the school bus, has visited the school and seen the classroom and met her teacher. Addie is bright, inquisitive and polite, so she should do very well in a classroom setting. As an only child, she will have to learn to share -- both things like books and toys and also the attention of her teacher. 

Heading off to school is an enormous life change for a child, and a huge milestone in their development. As her grandmother, I can remember both going off to school myself way back when, and also sending her daddy off to school for the first time. In both cases, life was never the same after that... so I know life is about to change for Addie as well.

School opens up a whole new world to children. Addie will begin to read this year (which is something kindergarteners did not learn when I was one!) so the world of books and literature will open up even more to her. She will learn science and math at the most basic levels, and will begin to learn art and music a little more formally as well. And then there is the social learning-- the part that scares Grandma the most. Addie is sweet and mostly innocent, and enjoys playing with other children when she can. Once she is in school she will feel the desire to "fit in" so she can have lots more friends. Sometimes she will be left out and will learn how that feels. And sometimes she will be tempted to leave out a child who doesn't "fit". Grandma hopes that she will always remember to be kind-- to treat the other children with compassion. And that she will never feel the broken heart that comes when you feel left out...

Addie and her Great Grandmother Dee Doe

Addie is lucky-- she has parents and grandparents who love her and think she is IT. We will all be supportive of her as she learns. I hope she will always feel loved by us, supported by us, and listen when we tell her how wonderful she is, and that she can do and become pretty much anything she sets her mind to doing. That is what school is ultimately about-- learning and growing to become a contributing citizen of the world. My wish is that she learns skills and attitudes of self-confidence and self-reliance, that she develops compassion for others as well. Addison, my darling beloved grand daughter-- you have so much to offer the world and it needs you to give your best. Grandma will always be here to support your efforts and encourage you. Go out into this world and make it a better place! And while you are doing it, be sure to enjoy it and have some fun. I love you, Addie!!

Robert Fulghum wrote a wonderful little book about all this. Here is a quote from it:

“These are the things I learned (in Kindergarten):

1. Share everything.
2. Play fair.
3. Don't hit people.
4. Put thngs back where you found them.
5. CLEAN UP YOUR OWN MESS.
6. Don't take things that aren't yours.
7. Say you're SORRY when you HURT somebody.
8. Wash your hands before you eat.
9. Flush.
10. Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.
11. Live a balanced life - learn some and drink some and draw some and paint some and sing and dance and play and work everyday some.
12. Take a nap every afternoon.
13. When you go out into the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands, and stick together.
14. Be aware of wonder. Remember the little seed in the Stryrofoam cup: The roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why, but we are all like that.
15. Goldfish and hamster and white mice and even the little seed in the Styrofoam cup - they all die. So do we.
16. And then remember the Dick-and-Jane books and the first workd you learned - the biggest word of all - LOOK.” 
― Robert Fulghum, All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten