Mommy Mondays: Starting Kindergarten

This is one of those posts where I'm sharing experience, and not advice.  Because y'all, we are only 3 days into this kindergarten thing.  There's more I don't know I don't know, than things I know.

When last we left our kindergarten saga, Thatkid had got into a better school in our district.  And that was pretty much it for a while.  It's been quiet on that front.  And then August rolled around and it was time to prep for starting school!

Back in May, we had our "school assessment" where they provided us with the list of what we needed for school.  The list was small - pencils, crayons, and scissors.  That's it.  Everything else was provided for.  And the school specifically requested we not send the kids in with backpacks.  I later learned that the PTA provides tote bags for all the kindergartners to use in lieu of backpacks.  Because kindergarten is only half a day, even a lunch box wasn't required.  So our back to school prep was pretty non-existent.

I've already said I am NOT the guru in this department.  I called up one of my friends who has been there, done that twice before with her sons and had her walk me through what we should be doing. She told me that she got backpacks for both her sons when they were in kindergarten, and used it to store a pillow and blanket for rest-time in the after school program.  This is also where the lunch box would come into play.

With this in mind, we were off.  We started with the hallmark of school - the backpack.  Thatkid picked out a blindingly neon green number.

He's fairly well set with clothes, but school shopping is a rite of passage.  And so I let him pick out some new outfits for school.  His idea of "new school clothes" is a little different than mine.  He picked out some graphic tees and basketball shorts.  I managed to throw in a pair of khakis and convinced him to add another pair of pants and some dressier shoes into the mix.  A new lunchbox, socks, and pencil box which we filled with crayons, "rainbow pencils" and a pencil sharpener, rounded out the shopping trip.

And then came the stressful part.  A little over a week before school started we got a letter in the mail assigning Thatkid to....afternoon kindergarten.  Afternoon kindergarten is from 11-2:20.  There is no morning care on campus, and the of campus care programs don't transport to the school.  Which would mean I would have to get him to school myself every day at 11.  (*Well every day except Thursday when the afternoon kindergarten went in the morning)  This wouldn't have been terrible on days I worked from home, but would be really inconvenient on days I was in the office.  And impossible on days I traveled to LA or Oakland.   Nothing is ever easy in Thathouse, huh?

So when school opened the following week, I went to the school to talk to them.  Which didn't seem like it was going to work.  They basically informed me he was on the waitlist for morning and nothing could be done until school started.  I'm not ashamed to say I cried, begged, and pleaded, but they were unmoved.  But somehow, by the end of the day he had moved off the wait list and into morning kindergarten.   We still went through a couple more classroom/teacher changes that week, but on Wednesday of last week he finally started school!

The day before, we had gone in to meet his teacher, see his classroom, and get his first homework assignment - decorate that totebag!  Thatkid used glitter paint to draw his family on the bag.  We found his seat, and thankfully noted his best friend was sitting at the other side of the class.  The two of them wasted no time in acting crazy as I had them do a couple run throughs of coming in, hanging up their bags, and finding their seats.

Wednesday morning he was still very high energy and crazy.  We ran into a bunch more friends while waiting for school to start and he was very happy to see them.  We headed over to his classroom and waited there until his teacher opened the door to greet her students.  And that's when that craziness and energy faded.  His eyes got big, he got quiet, and he asked if I would go into the class with him.  So I walked him in while he hung up his bag and put his lunch bag in his cubby for snack time.  A couple kids had already made their way over to the rug, so I sent him over to sit with one of his friends, a girl who had been on his baseball team, before I headed out.  I managed to snap a quick picture on my way out the door as he sat nervous and quiet.

The first week has definitely been a learning curve.  School itself has gone great.  He comes home every day with "star cards" which are for exceptional behavior.  He's gotten a "responsibility" ticket for doing something responsible (he can't remember what).  And he really likes it.

Aftercare however....the first day he already was getting in trouble for roughhousing with one of his friends.  The third day he "forgot" he brought his lunch and went to the cafeteria to buy lunch instead.  This kid LOVES buying lunch.  I think he's most impressed with the chocolate milk that "comes in a bag you can't open, you just poke it with a straw."  Although I'm sure the corn dogs, tater tots, and chicken nuggets are fairly big selling points too.

And after aftercare, he's been a bit of a mess.  This is the first time he hasn't napped.  Yes y'all, my nearly 6 year old still takes naps.  And needs them.  Of the three days he's been in school, he has only taken advantage of "rest time" once.  Which means he's a tired, cranky, emotional mess in the evenings.  So.Much.Crying.  He got in a couple of good naps this weekend, so hopefully that will help?  Gosh I wish you could store sleep (she said thinking of how much sleep she had before her children were born).