Kindergarten Musings

Tonight was the Parent Open House for Emma's kindergarten. Here are a few things I learned:

• "Open House" from 5:30 pm - 6:15 pm actually meant "Be there at 5:30 pm, the teacher has a lot to say and will address the parents as a group" Thankfully I had been cued into this fact by a couple neighbors who have been through the drill. Other first-time parents didn't read in between the lines and actually thought it was an open house. Maybe because every where it says its an open house.
• It's started already: "There has been a confirmed case of cryptosporidium in your child's classroom." Great, 5 days into school and we're already passing the infectious diseases around. What's next, tuberculosis?
• Due to the great wisdom in the state legislature (a.k.a. Democrats), classes can no longer legally ask for parents to give or even suggest for them to donate money for class field trips. I'm sure they thought they were doing teachers, parents, and students a favor by trying to keep the cost of going to school down. I get it, not everyone has an extra $4 to go to the Pumpkin Patch, but I would be more than willing to give an extra $4 for a student to go if it means everyone can go. But no, they can't ask for money so many of the class field trips have already been cancelled. Bummer, dude.
• By the end of the school year my kindergarten child should be able to read the following words on his/her own: a, and, are, can, do, for, go, has, have, he, here, I, is, in, like, little, look, me, my, play, said, see, she, the, this, to, was, we, what, where, with, and you. The teacher said "They will be so tickled when they are able to read these words." Too bad Emma was reading those words a good 6 months ago. We are onto words like "quality" and "rambunctious". I am hoping the teacher keeps her word when she says she will keep those who already read challenged.
• I do think this teacher is a good fit for Emma. The teacher loves science, nature, and animals--three of Emma's favorite things as well. The teacher used to have a bunny in her classroom until the administrators decided against any animal with fur. Again, I understand--allergy issues. She will be bringing him in on specials days, along with visits from her dogs. Kids are also encouraged to bring their pets for show and tell if they are able. Somehow I don't think our cat Elway would fare well in a class of 19 kids.
• I signed up to volunteer at the Halloween Party and the Valentine Party, to go on the field trip to the Animal Clinic (if they can go), to be a guest chef when they make pizza in class (since they can't take their usual field trip to the local pizza place, Happy Joe's), and to volunteer to help out in the class. I wasn't brave enough to sign up for the school carnival, be a class parent, or coordinate the PTO basket for the silent auction. That would be a bit much.
• Emma has always made best friends with a boy within days of stating school. Her first year of preschool it was Jared (who was adorable, BTW, and showered Emma with gifts throughout the year--that's the kind of boyfriend to have), last year it was Jensen, and this year it is CJ. CJ is also a doll and lives just down the street from us. The two of them happened to be outside one night last week and were able to play for just a few minutes. After he got inside, he promptly told his parents, "I love Emma." They hold hands walking onto the bus in the mornings and today they ate lunch together.
• The teacher encouraged us to meet the other parents in the room because we would be spending the next 13 years with them. "And before you know it, your kids will be dating each other." Let's just try to get past kindergarten, first--then we'll start talking about dating.