If you have a child who has survived kindergarten, come on in!

lala5507 · July 2014

Dd is going to kindergarten in the fall and I'm freaking out a bit (not in front of her, obviously). I feel like I'm hearing all the bad things from people I know (swear words on the bus, the outing of the Easter bunny, general loss of innocents...) But nobody is telling me all the fun and wonderful things. Dd is a worrier and I don't want to add to that. Right now all I am seeing are all the negatives and "what ifs". So, tell me something GREAT that happened to your kid at kindergarten.

AmandaJLewis · July 2014

EJ loved kindergarten!! the school and teachers do so many fun activities and events. she learned to read, she made new friends, she only got in trouble a couple times ;;) she went on her first field trip (to the museum). We had nothing bad happen. It was a great experience for us both. Sure, I felt worried last summer. It was one of the first milestones that really got me on the emotional side. But I did great, and of course she did too. But it was really my problem not hers!

egpitt22 · July 2014

I will be honest and tell you that the transition to kindergarten was hard on all of us, and there were some bad moments throughout the whole year, BUT....he loved it overall. He loved his teacher, his new friends, and just being "on his own". I loved seeing him open up, and it's astounding at how much they learn in just a few months!!

Luckystar2 · July 2014

There was no loss of innocence! No swear words that I know of on the bus, still believes in Easter bunny, Santa Claus, etc.

The time leading up was much harder than the actual starting. Dd was really nervous and worried. She had been at the same daycare since she was an infant so it was a big change. I bribed her with Chapstick (ha!) and she had a great first day even though both her and I had seemed to be dreading it.

IDK, overall my kid would tell you she didn't like K but if you asked her how her day was she would say great or awesome most days. She had fun and made friends. But she is stubborn and had difficulty with the structure of learning! But we made it and she ended the year ahead of where they are expected to be.

It is an emotional time with the transition but it was not as bad as I expected. Like Emmy said there were bad moments but that is life! My kid is also not a morning person so that was our biggest challenge with getting ready for the bus.

amyjoy18 · July 2014

I'm in the same boat as you :-) Overall I'm exited for her to go, because she loves to learn and does really well with structure and is a very social kid, so I know she'll love it.

My concern is mostly about the bus--which theoretically I COULD avoid as we live close enough to the school, but I don't think I will. It's part of a rite of passage I guess.

egpitt22 · July 2014

as far as the bus, i'm not sure if this is all districts, but ours has assigned seats and they go by grade. So the oldest kids sit in the back, then work by grade up to the front. Jake was in the front row, just behind the bus driver

MrsAmers · July 2014

H either still believes in Santa, Easter Bunny and Tooth Fairy, or is doing a great job of fooling us. :-)

The transition was a bit hard, but no worse than other changes we’ve been through. She had some behavior issues for the first six weeks. But once she made some friends and felt “at home” in the school, all was well. When we go to school fairs and activities, she runs off with her friends and we don’t see her unless she needs money for something. ;-) She LOVED her K teacher and loves being able to read. She has produced some awesome art projects, enjoyed writing workshop and made good friends.

She is not the kind of kid who loves school so much that she is sad when the year is over, but she enjoys school enough that she doesn’t dread going back in the fall. I am looking forward to T going in the fall. I think he’s going to be thrilled when he can read, too! I think it is easier on all of us now that we know the school, the teachers and the routine.

lala5507 · July 2014

Thanks for letting me know that good things DO happen at kindergarten!

Dd refuses to even talk about kindergarten. It took her a year and a half to settle into her preschool and now she has to leave. I think she's having a really hard time with that. She is super quiet when she is in a new/uncomfortable situation. She didn't even speak to anyone for the first 3 months of preschool last year. I know she is older this year, but I just worry about her being lost in the shuffle. She is totally the kid who would be left on the school bus because nobody saw her. After she adjusted to preschool, she ending up LOVING it and making a good many friends. I just hope it ends up going that way for elementary school

valkaz · July 2014

DD also really enjoyed kindergarten, and we had no loss of innocence either. It was amazing to see the things she learned - how to read, how to tell time, how to count change, etc. We really loved DD's teacher too, so I'm sure that was a major plus for starting school on a positive note.

I worried too at first because 5 still seems so young to go off by themselves - but things went great and DD is looking forward to 1st grade.

Luckystar2 · July 2014

I think most schools really look out for the new Kindergarteners so she shouldn't get lost in the shuffle. I know ours all had to wear their bus badges for the first couple weeks and that made it pretty easy to identify Kindergarteners.

On the first day It was really sweet at the bus stop that parents of the older kids asked them to look after my dd and another kindergarteners at our stop.

Letting dd get on the bus the first time was probably the 2nd most emotional moment with me about her (first being the first day of daycare). But by Day 2 it already seemed like no big deal.

northhillsbride · July 2014

Talk to the teacher ahead of time at Orientation. Bring up your concerns about her shyness - see what the teacher's response is to handling that. Also, find out if the school does a picnic ahead of time where you can meet other parents and maybe find a little friend for her to meet up with. Or, at the orientation, try to make friends with another parent and do a Chik-fil-a playdate the weekend before school starts!

You need to not be so nervous, though - even though I know you're not acting it around her, she may still overhear a conversation or feel your emotions when talking about it (even though you try to mask it).

As for the negatives you have heard, as you said - there is a certain rite of passage to life. You can't protect your child from everything and teaching them the proper coping methods is all you can do and let them learn some on their own! It will give her confidence, I'm sure.

If it helps, Gavin is going into 2nd grade in August and still believes in the Easter Bunny. He's the one I thought would be great on day 1 of Kindgerarten, due to his daycare experience, the fact that he loved a daylong, drop-off horse camp (after the initial shock of being left there, the only boy, etc.) - but he still cried like a baby at drop-off (I think he was the only crier - the others were fine or just in shock. lol). Kindergarten gave him so much more confidence, as did the move to a new state last year did. He's no worse for the wear!

Hang in there, Mama!

bride2003 · July 2014

Luckystar2 said:

The time leading up was much harder than the actual starting. Dd was really nervous and worried. She had been at the same daycare since she was an infant so it was a big change. I

Same here - I just remember that summer b/c Eamon was born at end of June and Caileigh had stomach aches every day. And Keira was in the throes of 2 1/2 yr old tantrums so I was surrounded by worried & crying kids! We figured out it was anticipation of kindergarten. And she was going to a familiar school that her cousins attend so I was really surprised she was this nervous. Just go with her lead, don't talk it up too much but when you do in a positive way (of course!). If you can get through the first days/weeks it gets better. The bus drove right past her the second day & I thought she was going to break down in tears! I'm sure she will love it and thrive!

Luckystar2 · July 2014

Oh another thought...while I agree I would try not to show too much worry around her I would still have open discussions about how she feels about it. If she is nervous or worried ask what specifically she is worried about. Maybe you can talk it through it come up with an idea to help.

For dd she kept telling me that she was going to miss me and that's why she was worried. Totally not what I expected considering the kid has gone to all day daycare since she was 12 weeks! This wasn't any different! But to her it was so I'm glad we talked about it. I got her a locket and put in a picture of us so she would have a little piece of me with her and it helped her a ton. And it helped me to let go of some stress/worry by doing something to help her

If you have a child who has survived kindergarten, come on in!

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