Hi. I have a 3 part question all related to Kindergarten.
1- My (first born) daughter is starting kindergarten this week and I was thinking that I wanted to start some sort of tradition but I am drawing a blank. Everyone is always so creative here. I was thinking some kind of tradition that we do or I buy her something (inexpensive). I have a youger daughter also that will start school in a couple of years so I just want to make sure that it is something that I can do with her also when she starts school.
2- Do you know where to get a picture frame with an opening for K-12th grade?
3- Any other 1st time moms have kids going into kindergarten and are having a really hard time with it and a million different worries (some rational and some not so rational).
I started what I hope will become a tradition with my preschooler of taking him for ice cream after school on the first and last day of school, going to try and continue every year...
Michaels has frames with places for each grade.. You could also look online.
For our daughter, We took a photo each first day of school from Kinder to 12th grade, standing next to the same tree in our front yard.. With her back pack..
We also allowed her to choose what would be the dinner for the first day of school so we could hear about everything that happened.
This is such an exciting time for all of you. Enjoy!
We give our child a special blessing the night before the first day of school.
My suggestion is to do a "glam day" to get her ready for school. Get her hair cut, come home to a bubble bath, then paint her nails and help her feel beautiful for her first day of school.
My mom did this with my daughter, complete with cucumbers on her eyelids, a fruity little drink and music playing. My daughter thought grandma was THE BEST!
Now my girls ask every year, "Mom are we doing our nails again before school starts?" I even bought them one of those little "jewel" kits at a cosmetic shop, so they have little sparkles imbedded into their nail paint.
You could buy a blank book and each do a page (facing each other) each year (so you can see them both)...like, what she's excited to learn about and what you are excited for during the year or what you'd like to do, etc. Or take her shopping and let her pick out one very special "back to school" outfit that she truly gets to pick.
Here is something that I hope you will enjoy. This is a questionnaire for the first day of school. Record your daughter's remarks in her scrapbook album.
Celebrate all the little things that make the first day of school special!
Traditional First Day of School Photos:
Start a first day of school photo tradition-regardless of the school age of
your student. For example: For thirteen
years I posed my daughter by the back door wearing her back pack and
carrying her lunch. I tried to have her stand in
nearly the same spot so that I could also record how tall she was each year
(by comparing her height to the door jam.)
Photographs to Take:
* Begin the day with a picture of your child in bed asleep
* Take a picture of your child getting ready for school (getting dressed,
brushing teeth, putting on make-up)
* Packing their lunch? Snap a picture!
* Before school starts, take a picture of your child's school. (Without all
the traffic, cars, kids, etc.) Take a
picture of the playground, front of the school
* Child looking at the class roster to find what class she is in
* Be on the look out for signs ... Pose child by any sign that says "Welcome
to the ?? Grade" or pose by the school marquee
* Snap a photo of the blackboard with the date and teacher's name
* Take a photo of the school clock when your child arrives
* Take a photo of your child beside and in his desk
* Snap a photo of your child doing her first homework assignment (Be sure
and keep a copy of the homework to mount in child's School Days Album along
with the photo.)
* Take one last picture of your child waving good-bye to you - in their
classroom (if they let you go that far), exiting the car at school or
getting on the school bus.
First Day of School Questionnaire
Here are some questions to ask and record about your child's first day at school.
Remember to have them put their signature on the page.
* What is today's date?
* How did you get to school? Did your parent(s) take you to school? Did you ride the bus? What is your bus number? Did you walk to school?
* What did you eat for lunch? Did you bring your lunch or buy your lunch?
What does your lunch box look like? Did you eat lunch in your classroom or in the cafeteria?
* The best thing about being in ??? grade is...
* Something I learned today that I did not know was...
* The funniest thing that happened today was ...
* My biggest surprise about today was...
* We really had fun today when....
* I met some new friends today. Their names are .....
* Describe your teacher.....
* Draw a setting chart of your classroom. Who sits next to you?
If you have not begun your daughter's scrapbook album, now is a wonderful time to start! When you do your journalling next to her photos, be sure to use her name a lot and journal "to" her. It is your legacy of your love, as her mother.
If you would like some great ideas for an album, go to www.mycmsite.com/marycluley then "project center" at the bottom right then "traditional" and there are so many great ideas there. Good luck!
P.S. I am a PE teacher also and I LOVE kindergarten. 99% of kindergarten teachers are the most patient and kind people. She will do just great!
My grand daughter just started her first year in preschool and my daughter is into scrap booking, so she made a scrap book page with the title FIRST DAY OF PRESCHOOL with the name of the school and the date. She then had me take pictures of her all ready to go, holding this page so the photo of her will go into the scrap book along with the page. I thought that was a neat idea. Do it every year on the first day, and she will have a nice scrap book of all her school years.
Also a friend of ours had her daughter stand with the teacher on the first day every year from preschool thru 6th grade. The M. is a teacher herself and she always made sure her students had a photo of them with her for their parents too. That was a cool idea.
Ive bought the 12 space frames at Kmart.
Draw an outline of her hands and feet on a sheet of paper (typing or special paper like stationary or scrapbook paper) and have her write her name on it. After 12th grade you'll have a booklet of sorts of how she has grown and her handwriting.
Kohls has those frames w/12 openings, 1 for each grade, that you can fill in as the years go by.
I am having a hard time that my 5 yo, who is an only child, won't be around during the day. He has been my constant companion since he came home from the hospital and it will truly be lonely in that empty house :( I also have a safety issue - last year a 1st grader brought a loaded gun to school. The school has taken extra security measures since then but still...what if it happens again?
gl to all the kindergartners!
My daughter just started kindergarten this year too. She also had two years of preschool. The only tradition I have is on her first day i take a couple photos of her inside and a couple outside in front of a certain plant I have. I also let her pick out dinner that night. Ive seen the school picture frames at Hallmark, Target, and Avon. I didn't really have any worries about her going to kindergarten since I knew how well she did the previous two years in preschool. Everyday she practically pushed me out the door! The only concern I had was how she was going to react to being in school all day. I was told she may be crabby, very tired and need a nap or alone time. Today is her fourth day and each day I pick her up she looks a little wore out but still my happy little girl. Surprisingly she hasnt need a nap either, stays up to almost 8 pm and she out til I have to wake her up the next morning.
