Anticipating the First Day of the School Year

"The whole point of the first day of kindergarten," said an early mentor of mine, "is to get 'em in and get 'em out. They won't remember anything you do in between."  I remember her words at the start of each school year, even after 22 years of teaching kindergarten.

Get 'em in: get the new kindergarteners into the building, into your classroom, hopefully, without tears or having to peel any children off of their parents. And get 'em out: get them out on the correct school bus, day care mini-van, or into the arms of anxiously waiting babysitters, parents, or grandparents.  I am still focused on the start and end of that all-important first day of each school year, even after 22 years of teaching kindergarten.

There are, of course, no guarantees that all will go smoothly despite careful planning and the work of administrators, teachers, and parents.  Young children are unpredictable. Sometimes you do have to deal with crying. It's so helpful to have an extra adult there that first day of kindergarten to comfort and reassure a crying child (or two.)  Sometimes you do have to help a child separate from her parent.  I prefer to do this in the classroom rather than outside the building with the whole community watching.  Some children will need to carry around a picture of their mom or dad for awhile at the beginning of the school year. Others might need a sticker chart to reinforce "no tears today!"  And sometimes things don't go smoothly at the end of the day and a parent shows up at school when his child has been put on a bus.  Or, a parent is really late and a fearful child is waiting too long.  I will say that I've never lost a child, even in 22 years of teaching kindergarten.

I once read a brilliant essay contrasting our work as teachers with pretty much any other business.  I don't remember all the author's points but a few have really stayed with me.  In what other business do you have a 100% turnover in your clientele every year?  In what other business do you have to impress not just your clientele but their parents?  In what other business do you have to sell products that your clientele does not know it needs and maybe really doesn't want to buy?  There is no doubt about it: teaching is uniquely hard work, even after 22 years of teaching kindergarten.

Yet, besides all this uncertainty, there is also curiosity, excitement, possibility, and joy in my heart as I anticipate the start of a new school year.  Who will be my new little friends?  What will they like best about Room 3?  What talents and gifts will they bring to our little learning community?  How far can I move them along their path as students?  Yes, the start of a new school year with all of its challenges is still rewarding, even after 22 years of teaching kindergarten.