| Kindergarten
Already?
It’s hard for me to believe that my daughter
was born five years ago because it seems like yesterday that
we were just bringing her home from the hospital. So it was
a little surreal last week when I walked into the elementary
school to register her for kindergarten in the fall. She is
very ready for kindergarten, anxious to make the jump from
preschool to the school with all the "big kids." I, on the
other hand, am pretty sure that I am nowhere near ready.
So I’ve been searching for a few books that might help make
this big jump a little smoother for me and here are a few
that I’ve been paging through.
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All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten
by Robert Fulghum
When in doubt, always start with a classic. Fulghum’s
book about applying the simple things we learn in kindergarten
to the rest of our lives still rings true twenty years
after it was first published. This book should be required
reading for everyone at least once every couple of years
to remind us that the complexity of our lives can often
be smoothed out by the simplest ways of thinking.
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Richard Scarry's Getting Ready for School Workbook
(Paperback) by Richard Scarry
I had forgotten how much I loved Richard Scarry as a child.
His books were some of the first I remember my mother
reading to me and so I’d have to say I bought this book
more for me than for my daughter. This is actually a compilation
of four separate workbooks that Scarry put together for
kids to practice basic skills and my daughter loves the
simple reading and writing exercises that are great prep
work for what she’ll see when she hits kindergarten next
year. Huckle Cat rules!
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The Kindergarten Wars: The Battle to Get into
America's Best Private Schools by Alan Eisenstock
We live in a neighborhood with a very good public elementary
school, so private schools were never a concern for us.
Not so for all parents, though, and Eisenstock’s book
profiles several families who are obsessed with getting
their child into elite private kindergartens. I wish Eisenstock
had committed to following these families over the next
fifteen years so we could see if the incredible pressure
that these parents place on themselves and on their kids
will ultimately reward them or set them up for even bigger
disappointments. This book is both exasperating and entertaining.
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Kindergarten Success: Everything You Need to
Know to Help Your Child Learn by Amy James
As I registered my daughter for kindergarten, I realized
that I really had no idea what she would be doing in the
classroom next year. All I remember from my kindergarten
year is climbing the Noodle Knocker (a wooden pole in
the classroom) and nap time. This straight forward book
provides the basics for what kids will be learning during
their kindergarten year and what the learning expectations
are. The book also provides tons of exercises to supplement
what the kids are doing in the classroom and lots of recommendations
of kindergarten appropriate books. Think of it as your
own adult kindergarten textbook.
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Don’t forget to pack your lunch! |