ATTENTION: My little rays and I have successfully survived the first day of kindergarten!!
To prepare for the FIRST DAY, I spent my last day of summer laying by a pool followed by a nice family dinner at a steakhouse!! Add in some yoga and an early bedtime and this Kinder teacher was ready to rock and roll!!! I woke up this morning feeling rested and as ready as I could be (there is literally no way to plan how the first day will go!). I didn't have to plan a special outfit because all Kindergarten kiddos and teachers wore matching green shirts! One reason we wear these is so that our babes know who we are. The other reason is so the WHOLE building knows who are newest little friends are!! It is so nice to be able to have all of the staff prepared to help when they spot a wandering kinder!!
As I got to school I made sure my room was ready for the 18939584 time and let myself relax a bit! One of the best parts of the first day is that it is go with the flow! The day is guaranteed to be filled with kids in the wrong places, chaos, and mix ups! Our school works amazingly well together and we always get everything worked out :)
A hinder to the day was the incredibly hot and humid temperatures. In an unairconditioned room with 20 little friends who aren't used to being at school for 7 hours, there is not much comfort! Luckily my little rays are troopers!! I kept them engaged by making sure we were not doing one thing for too long a period of time! We started the morning going over procedures (aka how we will be spending the next few weeks!!!) We then colored a first day of school picture and practiced how to walk in the hallway. I kid you not when I say my kiddos were SILENT in the halls. Now I know this is day one, but I mean, they were quiet as can be and walked in a nice little line. I was doing a happy dance inside!!! They got to learn all about computers in their technology class and then we took our First Day of Kindergarten pictures!! We had made it to lunch (quite the success!) without too many tears or confusion.
Coming back from lunch, we headed straight for our prep time (music). My kiddos were excited to sing and dance, but I could tell when I cam back to them that they were feeling the heat. We took LOTS of water and ice breaks to keep ourselves cool and watched a few videos while we took a little rest time!! I read The Night Before Kindergarten to them and we worked on raising our hands and sharing our thoughts! I loved how they were respectful of each other!! We had a few shout outs, but cmon, we are talking about excited five and six year olds!!!! We finally made it to the point of the day they were all waiting for: POPSICLES!!!! (Side note: I am so lucky to have supportive parents who volunteered to supply our class with popsicles and ice for the first few weeks of school. It is so appreciated and makes me feel oh so lucky!!) We played outside after popsicles and used our cooler to fill up on water and ice because the heat was no joke today!!!
As we packed our bags and got ready to depart I asked my little friends who would be coming back tomorrow. Here are some of their (hilarious) answers:
Friend One: "I don't know. I will have to ask my mom."
Friend Two: "I could stay here forever. Wait...Miss K, can my mom visit??"
Friend Three: "I need to be at home forever actually. I like naps"
Friend Four: "Only if you come back!"
Giggles aside, I love my little bunch!!!! We are in for a year full of learning, laughs, and adventures and I wouldn't trade a single cutie!!!!
Here's to day two!!!!!!
Glad you had a great first day!! My kidlets are finally starting to get the hang of walking in a line, but it has taken a few days! Lol especially the friends who have never been to any kind of school before! Hope the rest of your week has been great!
ReplyDeleteCarlee Van Ness
The Kindergarten Press