All the things + thoughts as we prep for kindergarten
and just like that the Covid babies are off to kinder...
Flashback to 2020…
We’re fussing about masks and wiping down their groceries. We’re deep in the Tiger King drama and learning dances we saw on TikTok. Flatten the curve. Unprecedented times. Quarantine.
In our home, we also welcomed our first baby. A sweet girl named Charlotte who was our light during those dark, strange times.
At that time, kindergarten seemed a lifetime away. And yet, it’s already been five years! Our little covid baby who was born right when the world was shutting down is preparing for her next adventure: kindergarten.
It’s a bittersweet time for our family. She’s been at her daycare/preschool since she was one. She has grown and learned so much. The little one who used to cry at drop-off transformed into the girl that confidently walks into school each day and absolutely loves being there. She discovered her excitement for learning and helping others. She has developed deep, loving relationships with her teachers and classmates. I’m grateful for such a nurturing, supportive environment. We got so lucky when I was trying to figure out a daycare situation in 2021.
Char graduates this Friday, June 6th, and it will be hard for her to leave. Luckily we’ll have more transition time since she’s staying in her current class until the end of July. After that we have some summer fun planned and then the new school year begins at the end of August.
Preparations for kinder began for me last year. I started doing research on our school options and that part alone was overwhelming. We live in North Carolina and have some different routes we were considering: base school, application schools within our school zone, Montessori, charter.
Beyond safety and kids/parents being generally happy with the school, it was most important to us that the school is within 10-15 minutes of our home. Not only for commuting, but to be close to classmates and have that community feel. It’s so fun to organically run into school friends at the neighborhood playground or pool, so our base school was really appealing.
Our base school hasn’t offered any open houses yet, so we scheduled a private visit to get a feel for the school and classrooms to make sure it’s the right fit. In preparation of our visit, I gathered a list of questions to help evaluate and set our expectations.
Kindergarten Tour Questions
How many kindergarten classes are there?
What is the average class size?
Is there any chance we can request kids be in the same class? (our daughter knows a few kids attending the school)
Will there be an open house or meet the teacher event prior to school starting?
What method of reading instruction do the teachers use? (wanted to make sure it’s phonics based)
How do you use technology in the classroom?
How long do they have for lunch, recess, snack?
Is there an active parent group? What opportunities are there to be involved?
What are the children expected to know coming into kindergarten? What are the children expected to know when they leave?
Is there a bathroom in the classroom or elsewhere?
How do you measure growth?
Our school registration opens soon. It’s typically done in February, but our school district is switching to a new student information system, so new student enrollment has been delayed. I’m (im)patiently waiting for that to open up, but in the meantime we have other things to practice and prepare.
The school day will start much earlier with less flexibility than we do now, so I want to get in a good rhythm of having clothes picked out, bag packed, and food/water bottle ready the night before for a smoother morning. We’ve gotten lazier about this, but it makes such a big difference. Having everything ready empowers her to be a bit more self-sufficient, win-win.
I also want to get back in the habit of waking up before the girls so I feel prepared and ready to help them start their day rather than frazzled and behind. For a while I was doing my workout at home and that needed to happen at 6am or it wasn’t gonna happen.
Ever since we (by we I mean I workout and my kid(s) play in ChildWatch) started going to Burn Boot Camp, my alarm didn’t need to be so early. I’ve slipped into waking up with the kids — either because I set it later or I accidentally oversleep (usually the latter). It’s nice to stay in bed later, but isn’t worth the trade-off of beginning the day already trying to catch up.
We need the “back to school” items like new clothes (Char is sizing out of her current clothes), backpack, lunchbox, and school items. We’ll wait on this stuff until we have her list from school, but I know we’re both going to have fun doing this shopping.
As we get closer to school starting I’d like to practice and time our route to school so it’s not feeling hurried or unfamiliar. There’s morning traffic we’re not used to, so I want to take all that into account. No one likes to be rushed in the morning and I don’t want to be the stressed out mom in the drop-off line.
I’m feeling prepared for most of the logistics of school, like opening her own items in her lunchbox, finding her cubby, etc. Her teachers through the years have also done a great job of practicing writing, letters, numbers, colors, etc. She has the basics down and it will feel good to be able to help her classmates.
Where are my fellow rising kindergarten parents? How are we feeling?
Parents of older kids, what should we know? Is there anything I’m missing? What do you wish you knew that last summer before kinder?
Despite a high of only 75 degrees and water that felt like ice, we have officially began our summer at the pool this past weekend and it was so much fun! The girls happily wore their floats and splashed around (while I tried to not be splashed/frozen). I packed a “snacky lunch” for them both days and they gobbled it up!
What is it about this container than makes it 150% more likely my kids will eat everything? I’m looking forward to many more days spent at the neighborhood pool and poolside meals.
Thank you for being here! I’ll see you next Wednesday 💖
We are starting kindergarten too this year but as a homeschool family 👏
Really nice blog. I forget five year olds started with a shelter in place 🧡🧡😊