Let's laugh

After a couple of mushy heartfelt posts I say "Let's Laugh"!!!!!

I love hearing about Sydney's days at kindergarten. It brings back so many memories. There are things that are EXACTLY the same and things that are crazy different. Here are some of the things that are the same:
*When saving a seat at lunchtime, the kids put their leg on the seat next to them (totally did
it when I was in elementary school)
*New pencils are still very exciting
*"You cutted!!!!" is still a phrase you hear a lot
*The specials (Music, P.E. and Library) are still around and Sooo much fun for the kids
*Childhood crushes are still expressed by chasing each other
*The threat of "You won't be my best friend anymore if........" happens multiple times a day
*Kindergarten teachers are VERY cool!
*Lunch in the cafeteria has not gotten any better
*Boys still have cooties (ESPECIALLY if he is chasing you)
*Swinging...still one of the coolest activities on the play ground
*Room Mothers and volunteering
*Head checks for lice

Things that are different:
*There's a new special in town and it's name is computer lab (Sydney thinks it's boring, but I'm hoping it gets more exciting with time)
*Changing your color + no spankings - Cards go from Green, to Yellow, to Orange to Red. I'm not sure what happens at Red, but I know it's not a spanking - we had 4 Black tickets and on the 4th it was paddle time (not that I ever knew that from experience)
*Free for all disorganized play time has been replaced by "Centers". There is a Math Center, Guided Reading Center, Writing Center, Blocks Center , ABC's Center, house/kitchen Center, Art Center, Games Center, Computers Center (and I'm sure I'm leaving some out)
*Phonetic Connection....This one blew me away. Sydney said to me "I didn't get to do rest time because I was daydreaming and didn't finish my Phonetic Connection....long story short - it's called a word problem - fancy names for simple tasks
*Journal Writing
*HOMEWORK!!! In kindergarten! At least 30 minutes EVERY night!!!
*WatchDog Dads. A very cool program that gets the Dads involved in volunteering and allows some male figures to some kids who don't have male figures in their lives

All in all, some things never change. Some things are being re-vamped yearly because there just is no good system. You will always have the kids that act out and are trouble makers, the shy/quiet ones and the ones who blend in somewhere in the middle. I love Sydney's school. I love the teachers and I love that they have dedicated their lives to teaching our children. Lord knows I could never do it (I can barely have lunch at their table without needing some sort of anti-anxiety drug when I'm done). I watched Sydney on the play ground today after lunch and wondered if any of these same kids would still be in her life 10 years from now or next year, for that matter. I have fond memories of elementary school and can't wait to hear her reflections of elementary school years from now.

Will she still believe that they all had to go to the nurse to have their heads looked at because 2 kids threw up or will it dawn on her that they had to have their heads checked when Hudson Brewer was sent home because he had bugs in his hair because the nurse was seeing if anyone else had bugs in their hair?

Will her love for reading continue as she continues to excel? Will she ALWAYS love to write in her journal? Will she have a great love of writing one day? Will she become a teacher because of those teachers in her life and will she ever have a teacher that ruins it for her? Only time will tell, but in the meantime I am LOVING her stories of play ground chasing, kids vomiting, bugs in the hair and phonetic connections.... They bring me tons of laughter, happiness and pride.