Friday, May 18, 2007

Kindergarten Open House

Yesterday evening, I got to take a sneak peak at my Kindergarten classroom in the "Bell School" (as I refer to the Alamo School owing to the large bell on its sign). It was a pretty neat classroom with lots of interesting things to see and do. There was a large board with numbers from 1 to 100, a calendar with patterns of tulips and stars labeled with the days of the month, lots and lots of dinosaurs, and so many other things. I also got to meet the teachers as well. I was very happy to be visiting and quickly settled into making patterns with wooden blocks in geometric shapes (including my favorite shape---the hexagon).

I also discovered that Grady, a person who is in Garden School, will also be going to the Bell School for Kindergarten. I hope he's in my class! I think it will be fun to go to the Bell School.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Dear Aidan,

Kindergarten is a big step, as your Daddy will tell you. Both your Daddy and your Uncle Dave had a very kind teacher named Mrs. Cooper, at the 16th and Haak Street Elementary School in Reading.

Your Daddy was a little (he says, a lot) apprehensive about going to school for the first time. All of the children had paper "crowns" to wear with their names on them. Your Daddy's crown read "R. John", because there was at least one other "John" in the class.

Actually, "John" was his middle name, though he was always called John. But at 16th and Haak, he was always "R. John."

Your Daddy enjoyed kindergarten and did very well. For half the school year, your Daddy went to the morning session. Then for the second half of the year, he went to the afternoon session.

I would drive him to school every day, with your Uncle Dave in the back seat, and then later, we would pick him up. Uncle Dave was only two and half and three years old when your Daddy was in Kindergarten. (Your Daddy was four and a half, when he started, and then five.)

When it was time to pick your Daddy up at the end of the session, Uncle Dave would become distressed when I would talk to the other Mommies who were there to pick up the other children, and he would try to kick them. And one day, when I picked up your Daddy, Uncle Dave asked him how kindergarten was, and in response, your Daddy hit him with his Walt Disney Mickey Mouse School Bus lunch box. Ah, those were the days!

Your Daddy had a friend named Kevin, who needed to repeat kindergarten and was a year older than the other children. Kevin looked after your Daddy, helping him on with his coat, holding his books, etc. Sadly, your Daddy seemed to take Kevin for granted.

When we got into our car (which I believe at that time was a maroon Plymouth Valiant),to go home, children would come up to the car and wave to your Daddy as he was leaving. "'Bye, R. John," they would say. And your Daddy, from his seat in the back seat of the car would wave back. (Not unlike the Pope at that time, with his followers.) Many of children waving to your Daddy were in the upper grades.

I'll bet your Mommy and Grammy have a lot of stories to tell too!

I think you'll like kindergarten, Aidan. Give it your best shot and enjoy the experience!

Much love,

Nainnie