Today is a monumental moment. Today is one of those priceless little spots in history that you just cant explain to others. Today is a day that signals a new beginning and the first step in a long, perilous adventure. Today is the day the cornerstone is to be laid at the foot of the foundation. Today is the day momma cries and daddy pretends to be strong. Today is the day that begins the inevitable cycle of growth and separation. Today is the beginning that signifies the end of life as we know it. Today my friends, is the first day of kindergarten. Today is the first time Angie will take Gracie to the bus stop and put her on a bus to go off to school all by herself. Today Gracie enters the public school system, is she ready for it, I think so, are they ready for her, no way. Little Miami Public Schools are in no way prepared for then entrance of the Hunan hurricane. Her teacher is not prepared for the Princess from the Middle Kingdom. Her teacher is late 20's early 30's and I fully expect her to retire about half way through this year. I think she might even get workers comp if bleeding from the ears is a work related affliction.
Earlier this week Gracie went and had her evaluation done. No big surprise, she is a little behind. The big surprise is where she is behind. She does pretty good with her numbers and letters, she does good with colors and shapes, she does great with writing her name and can tell you her address, her parents real names etc. But she did poorly on her evaluation because she cant rhyme words or tell if two words rhyme. I didn't realize the ability to perform a rap song was and integral part of a kindergarten entrance exam. Who knew? Supposedly the ability to recognize what rhymes is a precursor and signal of her ability to learn to read, again, who knew? She can recite Green Eggs and Ham from memory, but cant tell you that ham rhymes with Sam. She knows that Mickey rhymes with Minnie and mouse rhymes with house but then thinks Mickey mouse rhymes with Minnie mouse because they sound the same. The strange thing is the low scores are labeled as a difficulty in communication. The girl talks constantly and knows more words than I do, she can communicate the most complex thoughts and ideas, but she cant rhyme fox and socks. Why? Because she needs speech therapy, the F and the S both sound the same, so fox and socks are pronounced sox and socks, to her they rhyme, to us they just cause issues.
I have a feeling that this schooling adventure will become more and more educational for her parents as well as time passes. I, in my infinite ability to be ignorant, thought public school was publicly funded and free to everyone who lived in the district. Sounds right, but oh no, its not the way it really works. Not only are there school fees that must be paid on top of my taxes, we are given a list of supplies to put in her back pack and send with her on day one. In her back pack, which is a requirement by the way, she has two checks to give the teacher and a bag full of stuff that was on the list. She must bring scissors, glue sticks, crayons (3 different sizes), 1 gallon zip lock bags, dry erase markers, and the list goes on. Its been a century or two since I was in kindergarten but I still remember the kids in my class, the merry-go-round and my teacher. I don't remember having a back pack full of stuff to take because it seemed to me that the school had the 'school' supplies, not the kids being mules hauling in all the class supplies. What is Gracie going to do with 100 1gallon ziplock bags? Whatever, its not a huge tragedy, I just didn't get the memo.
Well, all I can do now is hope the teacher survives, join the PTO, and pour poor momma an adult beverage.
Earlier this week Gracie went and had her evaluation done. No big surprise, she is a little behind. The big surprise is where she is behind. She does pretty good with her numbers and letters, she does good with colors and shapes, she does great with writing her name and can tell you her address, her parents real names etc. But she did poorly on her evaluation because she cant rhyme words or tell if two words rhyme. I didn't realize the ability to perform a rap song was and integral part of a kindergarten entrance exam. Who knew? Supposedly the ability to recognize what rhymes is a precursor and signal of her ability to learn to read, again, who knew? She can recite Green Eggs and Ham from memory, but cant tell you that ham rhymes with Sam. She knows that Mickey rhymes with Minnie and mouse rhymes with house but then thinks Mickey mouse rhymes with Minnie mouse because they sound the same. The strange thing is the low scores are labeled as a difficulty in communication. The girl talks constantly and knows more words than I do, she can communicate the most complex thoughts and ideas, but she cant rhyme fox and socks. Why? Because she needs speech therapy, the F and the S both sound the same, so fox and socks are pronounced sox and socks, to her they rhyme, to us they just cause issues.
I have a feeling that this schooling adventure will become more and more educational for her parents as well as time passes. I, in my infinite ability to be ignorant, thought public school was publicly funded and free to everyone who lived in the district. Sounds right, but oh no, its not the way it really works. Not only are there school fees that must be paid on top of my taxes, we are given a list of supplies to put in her back pack and send with her on day one. In her back pack, which is a requirement by the way, she has two checks to give the teacher and a bag full of stuff that was on the list. She must bring scissors, glue sticks, crayons (3 different sizes), 1 gallon zip lock bags, dry erase markers, and the list goes on. Its been a century or two since I was in kindergarten but I still remember the kids in my class, the merry-go-round and my teacher. I don't remember having a back pack full of stuff to take because it seemed to me that the school had the 'school' supplies, not the kids being mules hauling in all the class supplies. What is Gracie going to do with 100 1gallon ziplock bags? Whatever, its not a huge tragedy, I just didn't get the memo.
Well, all I can do now is hope the teacher survives, join the PTO, and pour poor momma an adult beverage.
5 comments:
Oh my... It gets worse...
Let's see, in "school trips" this year (eg. going to New York City to sing on GMA) we have nearly $2000 in fees. Sports... Don't even ask, do you know what a cheerleading outfit (sweater monkey) costs? Then they are in sports, which by the way you need to buy a season pass to watch, which does not apply to other schools... Oh, wait till she needs the $80 calculator.
As an aside, you mentioned rhyming. It is also a little known fact, that we learn to read by the shape of words... That is why YOU SHOULD NOT TYPE IN ALL CAPITAL LETTERS, IT MAKES THE READER HAVE TO WORK HARDER AND IS MORE LIKELY TO NOT COMPREHEND OR MAY EVEN GIVE UP READING...
Chris...you're an awesome Dad and a wonderful husband. Now go pour Angie another adult beverage in my honor.
~Lois
Thanks Lois, I do what I can and the next bahama breeze is on you.
MaRk, whAt YOu saY is TrUE, IT wIll GEt MucH MuCh wOrSe. But MY triP is THaT I Am NoT onLy BuyINg WHAt GRaciE NeeDS but I AM BUYInG StuFF for THe TEAcheR to USe in ClaSS, THAts THe ParT ThaT I DIDNt sEE cOMing and dONt UnderSTAnd.
That is really strange. My mom taught kindergarten for over 30 years and retired in 2001, which is only seven years ago. She would never have asked for the kids to bring in all this stuff. In fact, I remember helping her set up supply cubbies for each kid with crayons, glue, pencils, scissors. Each cubby had the child's name on it and the supplies were theirs for the year. Also rhyming is notoriously difficult for children, which makes me wonder what's going on with education these days. I'm gonna ask my friend who's an early childhood teacher about all this and see what she says. I'll let you know what I find out. But buying all the school supplies is ridiculous.
Kindergarten = the next big adventure!
She looked so cute this morning!! And so small! *sigh*
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