The Kindergarten experience...

June 1 was Paige's kindergarten orientation. It was more an orientation for the parents actually, but the kids were welcome to come to see the school at the same time. There were various sessions in the 4 or 5 Kindergarten rooms, as well as the library. We were split into groups in the gym and then led as groups through the various sessions. In most of the groups, the kids either sat on carpets, or worked on activities, such as cutting paper, making a craft, stacking blocks, etc. while the parents were told different information in each session. We learned what type of backpack to buy for school, information on the 2 "nutrition breaks" (gone is lunch in the middle of the day), what entails the typical Kindergarten day, drop off and pick up routines, information about staggered entry (they start off kindergarten by going for an hour with just the teacher, then another full morning with just 5 kids, then with 10 kids, until working up to the first full day on September 16), etc. Of course we will be told most of this information later in the summer before school starts, but it was nice to get an idea of what to expect. Not to mention, we now have an idea of things we need to buy over the summer before school starts. They really stressed how independent the kids have to be, which I knew, but they also gave some great tips which I will definitely do, such as making sure that Paige can do up her new school backpack, open her lunch containers, and zip up her coat. I'll make sure these things are possible before we even buy these items. Paige certainly benefited from getting in the school and seeing that the classrooms looked fun and that there were a lot of other little kids her age that would be going there. She had only seen the super big kids going in there before. Recently she had started to say she didn't want to go to school, so I think this helped to calm her fears.