Fondly called “The Littles,” kindergarteners have a unique day in the world of elementary school, and I should know. I was happy to be one of them this week.
And just like them, I had to learn all the rules, and there’s a bunch of them to follow if you’re in a classroom full of little-bitty tables with little-bitty chairs placed around them and Littles trying to sit, and not wiggle, in them.
At the end of the day, I realized some of the things I learned during my day in kindergarten are good things to follow as an adult. Below is just a little of what I learned during my day with The Littles.
If you start the day with glitter (no matter what color) getting in your hair, it means it’s gonna be a great day.
Schedules: Make sure your watch is set to school time.
The daily schedule is followed down to the minute. Don’t be a minute early arriving at specials, lunch, or recess.
Only thing worse than being early is being a minute late arriving at specials, lunch, or recess.
Very important: If anyone raises their hand and asks to go to the bathroom, the answer is always yes.
Time is always made for bathroom breaks.
If anyone raises their hand to go to the bathroom, save time and just take the entire class.
Hallway behavior: There’s no skipping while going down the hallway, especially when the entire class is being escorted to the bathroom.
Grab a bubble, place it in your mouth before leaving the classroom, walking down the hallway, or when the teacher is talking.
How to grab a bubble: using your imagination, reach out with both hands and carefully capture a large bubble, then place it in your mouth and keep it safely there. If you open your mouth, the bubble will escape. If your bubble escapes, it will float away, and you’ll have to capture it all over again. It’s sad if your bubble escapes, but not as sad as breaking a crayon.
If you point, please only use your index finger. Any other finger will get you into trouble.
Morning work is to be done and completed in the morning. That’s why it’s called morning work.
Your first and last name goes at the top of the page, not on the back.
If you don’t remember how to spell your first and last name look down at the table where you are sitting — your name is on an index card taped to it.
Finished work goes in the green turn-in box, not the red box. The red box is for daily folders. Daily folders go home daily, and they are green.
Hand sanitizer is important and should be used after you blow your nose.
Please use the tissues provided next to the hand sanitizer to blow your nose.
Boo Boos: Teachers have Band-Aids, both large and small, always at the ready to cover tear-causing boo boos. Boo boos cause larger tears than a broken crayon event.
Snack time is at 10:00 AM and lasts about 10 minutes.
You can’t grab a bubble while eating snacks, but there’s still no talking during snack time.
Extra snacks are always available if a Little forgets to bring one from home.
Crisscross applesauce is not a snack.
Even if crisscross applesauce isn’t a snack, it’s very important to do so when asked to sit on the carpet.
Sit only in your chair at the table, and only on your spot on the carpet.
Nap time is really important.
There’s no talking during nap time, and yes, you can grab a bubble, or two, if needed to keep you from talking.
When the lights are off, there is no talking by anyone.
The quiet game is really hard to win if you’re a kindergarten student.
Reading the room doesn’t mean the same thing in kindergarten, as it does when you are an adult. When reading the room as a kindergartener, use a piece of paper on a clipboard, walk around looking for notes and pictures taped to the wall. Then copy and write down the word for what you find.
The letter S starts at the top, curves around then across, curves down and finishes by adding a tail.
The number 29 is an odd number and comes right after the number 28, which is an even number.
Broken crayons are a sad thing and will make you cry, especially if you are the breaker.
Ice cream at lunchtime costs a dollar.
If you buy your entire kindergarten class ice cream, you’ll get a discount.
If you buy your entire kindergarten class ice cream, all the other students in the cafeteria will want you to buy them ice cream also.
Buying all the students in the cafeteria ice cream will costs you way more than a dollar.
At the end of the day, all students must know if they are a car rider or a bus rider.
In kindergarten, if you are a bus rider, it’s important to know which bus you’re supposed to get on. If you ride the Lizard bus, don’t mistakenly get on the Lion bus. And if you ride the Lion bus, certainly don’t get on the Bear bus.
Hugs are not mandatory, but it’s impossible not to give a kindergartner a hug when they hug you first.
And finally, when I went to kindergarten a long, long time ago at Mt. Olive Elementary School, glue tasted yucky.
It still does.
[Rick Ryckeley has been writing stories weekly in The Citizen since 2001.]
