How Can I Make My Daughters 1St Day at Kindergarten Special??

first thing, does the school have an open house before the school starts? i know my son's school does the day before and when he started kindergarten, we made a big deal of going the day before and seeing his classroom, teacher, where he was going to sit, etc. then my husband and myself was there the first day to walk him to the bus and took pics and also when he got off the bus. this year, he is doing a sleepover at grandma's this weekend as the last hurrah before school.

I read the book "The Kissing Hand" by Audery Penn (I'm pretty sure that's how you spell her name) to my kids before their first day. None of them were afraid of school...just very excited. Reading this book let them know that I was excited for them and that being a little apprehensive was ok too. We went out for ice cream after school was out and that was a huge treat! Good luck!

Hi D.,
I read somewhere to get a locket & put a picture of mommy & daddy in it to make her feel like she still has you with her. I found a $ store locket & did that for my daughter 10 yrs ago. She still has it tucked away.

Good luck, I know she is going to love kindergarten.

L.

Dear D.,

I sent my oldest son off to college today....so your post brought back many memories. In some ways Kindergarten was tougher, in some ways not!

I don't remember doing anything particularly special the week before, just normal summer stuff--beach, park etc (but we wre still unpacking from a move, so maybe it has all blurred together).

Maybe she would like to pick out what to have for dinner the night before?

One thing we try to do at least once during the summer is to meet my husband for lunch at Pizza Hut. Maybe you could do something similar? have a picnic with Dad?

Definitely take photos! I went to a graduation open house for one of my son's friends (well, actually a bunch of open houses lol) and his mom had taken his photo at the screen door every year on the first day of school, usually with backpack on and lunchbox in hand. That way you'd see how he grew each year. She had all those photos in one little album so you could see the progression. When his younger sister started school the mom did photos of both of them together also. It was really sweet.

We have taken pictures (sometimes before school, sometimes after) and it is now hard to remember which year it was, so definitely label them, or have the child hold something in the photo ( a big "K" for this year,a big "1" for 1st grade, etc) to help you on that.

Also our elementary would let the parents follow the bus to school and get a picture as the kids got off the bus; I think I was even allowed to take a picture of my younger son in his kindergarten and first grade classrooms.

Have fun!

K. Z.

How special! =) Last year, my daughter started Kindergarten. I took some time off from work to drive her to school & pick her up on that first day. Then, I took her out for ice cream -- just the two of us. It was great!

Every kid is different but I agree with the person who said earlier to keep it simple. Most of my kids were nervous the first day so I just took their pictures (one even refused to let me take her picture on the first day so I had to take it on day 2!). But I do like the idea of afterwards going out for ice cream. By then all the pressure is off.

take alot of photos. get new clothes for her and do her hair if wanted.

Have her bring in some treats or a "goodie bag" for all of the students. That will help them all warm up to each other. She will feel extra special.

On my son's first day of kindergarten, I walked to the bus stop (a few houses down) with him and took pictures of him getting on the bus and standing in line with his friends/neighbors. I also met the bus when he came home and got a few pics of him stepping off the bus. After we walked home, all the kids (he's my oldest) got in the car and we went to DQ for ice cream (a very rare treat for us). I did that the last couple years, too... going to DQ for ice cream after school has become a 1st day of school tradition he looks forward to.

As for the last few days... every fall I make the week before school my son's time (mostly). I ask him what he wants to do. It's usually stuff like the zoo, children's museum, conner prairie, the state fair, etc because once school starts he's in everyday all day (we have full time K here) and he can't do those things (even though I take his younger sisters year-round). And at least once during that week we go to McDonald's for lunch (another rare treat) and let the kids play for an hour or so.

Hi! Kindergarten is a big step, but so exciting! You can read a book called "The Kissing Hand" - it's about a little raccoon who is nervous about his first day of school. Anyway, you can read the story and then draw a small heart on your daughter's hand so that she knows you are "with her" throughout her day. Or put a note or card in her lunch box so she has a little reminder of you mid-way through her day.

As for before school starts, if possible take her school shopping one on one and then maybe out for lunch so you can talk to her without any distractions and get a feel for how she is feeling about the big day and calm any fears she might have.

Best of luck to you. I cried all the way to my car when I dropped off my first child at kindergarten :)

My daughters first day of kindergarten as well and my husband is taking the morning off to be with her and then we are going to do a special lunch. She has afternoon kindergarten.

I will tell you this we did a trial run of the bus last night at the open house and she was completely freaked out. So I am not sure what it will be like next week when she has to get on and off.

She is also going to have almost 30 classmates so that will be a shocker for her as well since she was in a preschool that only had 10 kids.

Good luck and have fun

Albout yoiur job. Would you have any suggestions on how someone like myself who has bad health could get medicade approved or disibility. It seems nothing is open to me. I was told one of the reasons disibility was no was because I am too smart. Well I can't go back to school orders from the dr. And since I have no money how would I pay for school. On the news the other night I learned grants are gone too.

I don't know that I would make too much fuss about it. The ideas here are good, but to make too big a deal might backfire. Some times the best way to help kids deal with change and transition is to be nonchalant about the whole thing. The only thing we did differently was that my husband and I both walked him to school, not just one of us. And I took a first day of school picture. It may be a good thing that she doesn't understand what's coming. She'll get it after the first couple weeks. If she's excited and upbeat, that may be enough to make the day a big deal.

Looking back, I think I was more nervous than my daughter was when she started school. Most kids are excited (and curious) to interact with other kids their age.

The one thing I did that my girls really enjoyed was that I would periodically slip a note into their lunch box with say a piece of candy or something like that. They had something to read while they were eating their lunch. It can be as simple as a post it not with some little symbols on it that sais "I love you" (for those who don't read yet).

The first day of Kindergarten is tough. I think I cried more than my daughter did and paced the floor all day! LOL!

They grow up too quickly.

Peace <>< ~ B.
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