Tuesday, June 11, 2013

"All I Really Need To Know I Learned In Kindergarten"

I'm not sure how old I was when I first heard that quote from author Robert Fulghum.  As my son finishes his Kindergarten year I stop and think what did he learn?

  1. How to recognize the beginning, ending, and some of the middle sounds of words - he is on his way to being phonetically aware!
  2. Utilize inventive spelling.  Reading his first sentences brought such joy to this Momma's heart. 
  3.  Perfect drawing his train, and the amusement park that his train calls home.
  4. Make new friends. I noticed one little girl come and sit by him during summer school.  It melted my heart to see her reach out to my frustrated son, and brought a smile to my face when he smiled at her.
  5. Manipulate adults.  Yup, you read that right.  He has learned how to manipulate the teachers around him to get what he wants.  He keeps them on their toes.
  6. Play hookie from school  - "Mom, I don't feel good."  You ask him what hurts, he gives this pathetic look with those bright baby blue eyes, and we gave in.  It doesn't help that his temperature always runs a little high in the morning so we never knew if he was faking.  Now he goes to school until they call us!!
  7. Addition and subtraction - starts with pictures, now he uses numbers and his fingers!  
I know there are a ton of things that he has learned this year, but for some reason (maybe the late hour) those are the ones that mostly come to mind.  I am proud of him for making it through his first year of Elementary School.