I am glad I went to Kindergarten!

I have given my first assignment. I must say that on a whole, the students got to work and did as asked. I do have a few that may be through with the assignment after Labor Day ......they will probably NOT labor over it, but there are plenty of days to qualify as "after Labor Day". Most of the year as a matter of fact. But I can't wait to check them tomorrow.
So, what was this wonderful assignment? We read the short story "All I Ever Needed to Know I Learned In Kindergarten". In this story, the author gives 16 "rules" he learned at a young age that he feels are important for a life time. After reading, each student was to select one of the rules he/she felt was the most important and write for 25 minutes...uninterrupted (hard for me to do) defending their choice. NOW, I followed the rules too. I wrote with them.

Which rules did I choose? In one class I choose "every day about 3PM we should eat warm cookies, drink cold milk then cuddle with our blankie for a nap". Do I need to explain the need for that? Hello??? Come talk to me if you don't understand the need for comfort. That is definitely a life long rule that drops at Kindergarten and is not picked up again until retirement! In another class I choose the rule: "Flush". Go ahead....smile. Yes, I thought of Kauy and some "silver handle action"! My first paragraph was about him needing to flush and how I gag everytime I have to go to the bathroom and he "forgot" to flush. But then, I wrote that in life we all need to flush. Flush out the things in our lives that drag us down. Things in our lives that wear on us daily. Flush out the things that take control...i.e. yelling at the computer, yelling at the kids when they dumped the container of dirt from Church all over the seat. When we don't flush in our bathrooms, it becomes a big stinky mess. (Ask anyone who has been in my house and gone to the bathroom ANYTIME after Kauy). So it is with our lives. If we don't flush our lives out once in awhile, we may find ourselves with a big stinky mess.

The other "rule" I choose was: "When you cross the street always hold hands and look both ways" ( I think that is how it is written). Of course in Kindergarten you are short, lost in a sea of legs, and can't find your own nose sometimes. You hold hands on field trips so NO ONE gets lost. I have seen them hold hands going down the hall (especially little girls on their way to the bath room...two-by-two). But when you are a teen? Hold hands..........gross!!!! But oh how our children need a good friend who will hold their hand and help them get across the intersections of Middle School. The choices they have to make amid all the "newness" of life.....changes of voice, no change of voice,, developing bodies, no developing bodies, not to mention just passing the classes. Then in older years? Would I have made it the last 9 1/2 years without the family and friends who have held my hand, given me direction, and made me look both ways? No. Not at all. Yes, I do most of it on my own now, but I could not have navigated life without those people who took me by the hand and just held it.......I walked, and they tried to keep me from falling. When your 90? Do you still need to hold hands and look both ways? Watch my grandmother hold a hand as she walks at the church. I wouldn't give a plug nickel (whatever that is) for the times my precious grandmother holds on to me. Depends on me. And heavens, If she doesn't look both ways, you might end up getting hurt. She is on the move!
What did Kauy learn last year in Kindergarten..........I hope he learned things that will be important in years to come. I don't think "arm flarts" will qualify. I know that he discovered that flushing is important, a nice nap during the day was NOT the time to talk, and that the hands of his teacher offer love, learning, leadership, and direction(I have no other "l" word). And when I am being a total jerk, my kids still love to hold my hand.....even while watching TV. To me, that is as good as warm cookies and cold milk followed by a nap.