Monday's Question of the Day - April 4, 2016

I hope you don't think today's question is too silly.  Sometimes I think up a good question on say Thursday or Friday and forget it by the next Monday.  

Tell me 3 things you remember about kindergarten.  Or the kindergarten equivalent where you live.  (In the US; Kindergarten is the first year of traditional/public schooling at around age 5. Preschool is generally not required and not offered at a public level in many areas unless the child has some kind of special needs or comes from a disadvantaged background.)

I remember that my classroom was light green.  

We had a wooden "play house" made up of wooden walls and you had to climb to get in it.  There were only a few kids allowed at a time in there so it was pretty rare you'd get a chance to be in there.  That always disappointed me.

We had our own little room off the classroom with cubbies for our coats and things. Our own bathroom was right next to this.  I remember walking in one morning and a little boy (my first boyfriend) had put fresh lilacs in all of the girls cubbies.  I don't remember being overly impressed then; but lilacs are my favorite flower and scent.  My Mom says he brought me flowers a couple other times.  Including dead ones from his mother's valentine bouquet.     He had 2 other little girlfriends too.    I mostly remember what he looked like from our school picture; very Italian with dark coloring and darker skin.  It was the 80s and his parents dressed him quite Miami Vice inspired for those pictures; white pants and a Hawaiian print shirt! At least they didn't send a 5 year old to school with a matching white suit jacket!     He moved after  Kindergarten and that was the end it. 

Oh man this is too easy because it made a huge impact on me.

First day of kindergarten:  Was totally terrified to go back because the teacher innocently commented that my red, white and blue dress looked like the American flag and, that maybe they would hang me up with the one in the classroom.  I took her at her word; I mean, kids don't have that kind of sense of humor yet to recognize when someone is joking with them.  Or at least, I didn't!

It got better after that, eventually 

I remember certain clothing I wore - I had a plaid, butterscotch colored dress that I loved.

Last, I remember walking back and forth to school and stopping for hot pretzels on the way home.  Hot pretzel vendors are common anywhere in NYC and environs - we lived in Brooklyn.  The guy that sold them used to wipe his nose all the time and we always worried about that but it didn't stop us from wanting the pretzels LOL.

First day of kindergarten- I decided that I didn't like it and left. I walked out the door and went home. My older brothers used to bring me to the school to use the playground so I knew how to get home. I clearly remember opening the big heavy door at school and leaving. As I was walking up the driveway, my parents were about to leave to go to the store. Mom called the school. They had no idea that I was missing until mom called them. Could you imagine if that happened today? This was 1975. 

I learned to read when I was about 4 so I could read full books when I started kindergarten. The teacher had me read to the class at story time. What was she doing? Having a smoke break. Ah the 70's. 

I ran out of paper during arts & crafts so I painted a chair. The teacher wasn't thrilled with my masterpiece.  

I remember that I was skipping, not running but skipping, during playtime. The teacher made me sit and put my head down because she thought I was running.

My siblings went to the catholic school in the other direction, our neighbors across the alley were in the same boat.  It didn't have kindergarten.  My mother and a neighbor had a friend of my sister walk us to and from school  One day we decided to ditch her and walk alone.  After that we didn't have a chaperone. 

I remember the toy kitchen and playing games outside at recess.  One day I was told to come straight home and my mom had a photographer at the house to take a picture of the five youngest together.  I was wearing a brown corduroy jumper w/a turtleneck.  I had a few in different colors that my mom had made.

I remember exactly how to get to my class, the hallways and what to expect on the wall. My teacher

I remember having a circus show.. my mom bought me a kazoo since I was a clown. I could never figure out how to work that kazoo- either that or it just didn't work. We did our crazy clown acts by running around a circle carpet and falling every time someone blew a whistle, lol.

I also remember wearing an auditory trainer to help me hear the teacher.. HATED that thing with a passion.. but thankfully, classmates didn't mind it.

Strange thing I remember, though I am not sure if it was first grade or kindergarten- these little blow-up alphabet characters- cute little cartoony letters. My teacher would have a new one hanging up every week.. and I loved looking at those things.. I actually tried to look them up online and I can't find them. I should look again, lol

1. being scared to get on the school bus on the first day because I thought my mom was trying to abandon me (gimmie a break I was 5, what did I know?)  2. eating paste because I thought it was vanilla frosting (ugh, no it certainly WASN"T!)  3 getting kissed by a first grander and wondering what in the world was that? (only Mommy kisses me!) LOL, amazing what comes to mind sometimes

I was painfully shy. Well, actually I had (undiagnosed) severe social anxiety so I was literally scared of everyone and everything that wasn't familiar.

It was a bilingual class. Some of my classmates were Cambodian so we had a native Cambodian speaking teacher as well as an English speaking teacher.

We had a story area that had a large red rug. I remember sitting on the red rug and listening to the teacher read.

I mainly remember the field trips   oh they were always so exciting lol



Other parts here and there include the school, the classroom, Halloween (I remember what some of the other kids were wearing - for example, one girl was dressed like a convict, with the black and white stripes).

I remember another boy who threw up in the middle of the classroom. Left a long trail of it.....kept walking as he was puking, poor fella. 

And, err well, I was a bit of a tomboy at the time - all my friends were boys. One day, were were playing with play dough at a table in class. It was me and two of my closest guy friends, and we each started making phallic shaped items with the dough. And proceeded to walk around with our faux gentlemanly parts below the belts, mimicking various sounds like tinkling and making fun of macho men. It was really silly and yet amusing at the time. It didn't matter if I was a girl, I had an honorary boy bit! It didn't last long, only around 5 minutes before we did something else. 

Ah childhood, so normal. 
 

I didn't go to Kindergarten but Head Start. It was a two year program for 4 and 5 year olds. Now in Kentucky its for 3 and 4 year olds. I remember getting in trouble because I didn't want to take a nap. I set and cried because of it. I also remember the big conversation was who was still sucking a bottle. Of course I said I didn't even though I did. My second year there my little sister went to. That was the first time either of us went to the movies. We got to go to Kermit WV and watch E.T. 

When I was a kid, there was no such thing as kindergarten. Everybody just started first grade when they reached 6 years old.

I remember getting a book from my book order in. I wanted the teacher to read it to the class but she asked me to read it. I didn't want the other kids to know I didn't know how to read yet! So I made up what I thought the book said needless to say the other kids realized what I was doing and started booing at me. Kinder garden was traumatic for me. I remember crying cause I didn't have a purple crayon only violet! I stayed in from recess crying. I was an odd child I still am sorta odd!

sivyaleah said:

 
Oh man this is too easy because it made a huge impact on me.

First day of kindergarten:  Was totally terrified to go back because the teacher innocently commented that my red, white and blue dress looked like the American flag and, that maybe they would hang me up with the one in the classroom.  I took her at her word; I mean, kids don't have that kind of sense of humor yet to recognize when someone is joking with them.  Or at least, I didn't!

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  We just had a version of that go on in our house tonight with my DS.  He didn't pick up his bedroom when I told him to; so I went in at bedtime and packed up all the toys left out and put them by the door to the garage.  He saw that and got upset with me and I told him it wasn't MY fault; he should go look in the mirror and blame them!  Well off the hallway he went to go look in the bathroom mirror! 

Kat0121 said:

 
First day of kindergarten- I decided that I didn't like it and left. I walked out the door and went home. My older brothers used to bring me to the school to use the playground so I knew how to get home. I clearly remember opening the big heavy door at school and leaving. As I was walking up the driveway, my parents were about to leave to go to the store. Mom called the school. They had no idea that I was missing until mom called them. Could you imagine if that happened today? This was 1975. 

I learned to read when I was about 4 so I could read full books when I started kindergarten. The teacher had me read to the class at story time. What was she doing? Having a smoke break. Ah the 70's. 

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Oh my gosh...heads would roll!  National news media outside the school! 

BBDOLL22 said:

I remember that I was skipping, not running but skipping, during playtime. The teacher made me sit and put my head down because she thought I was running.

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It's so funny what we remember!!

Draco said:

 
 my mom bought me a kazoo since I was a clown. I could never figure out how to work that kazoo- either that or it just didn't work. 

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Speaking as the mother of 2 young kids; there is a veeeeery good possibility that kazoo never worked! 

Dennis47 said:

 
  3 getting kissed by a first grander and wondering what in the world was that? (only Mommy kisses me!) LOL, amazing what comes to mind sometimes

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lol.... Kissing at that age is the WORST!  COOTIES!    I remember if was really fun to make the annoying boys run away by saying you were going to kiss them!    

blueyedgirl5946 said:

When I was a kid, there was no such thing as kindergarten. Everybody just started first grade when they reached 6 years 

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We did not have kindergarten when I was a kid either. I started school in 1956 when I was 6 years old.

blueyedgirl5946 said:

When I was a kid, there was no such thing as kindergarten. Everybody just started first grade when they reached 6 years old.

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Same here.  I didn't go to kindergarten, either.

I went, although at 63 years old, kindergarten was just becoming available, and was not required.  I do remember my teacher calling my mom because she was amazed that I was reading.  And that my best friend went with me.  And that a boy pulled my pigtails, resulting in a "pixie" cut.

It was an awesome, old fashioned room, filled with toys, and even a little kitchen for the "girls" to play in. And there was a big picture on the wall of a cow jumping over the moon. We went to the zoo and came home and painted pictures of lions and giraffes and bears. [emoji]9786[/emoji]️ I have a twin brother and believe it or not, despite living in what was more or less a homeless shelter for 12 years (long story, everything is fine now) (350 miles from where I grew up), I somehow STILL have those paintings and not just mine, but my twin brother's, too, 47 years later. [emoji]9786[/emoji]️

I was in the first Kindergarten class for my town.

My teacher was MS McMahon. I actually found her on Facebook last week. :lol3:

I refused to get on the bus and my mother had to drive me to and from school for the whole year. :lol3:

I started kindergarten when I was four years old. On the first day of kindergarten, I came home and there was a strange man playing a piano in the living room. Turns out he was my piano teacher and the piano was for me. So quite a change in my life at four years old.

We only went for half-days, so I'd come home at lunch time and then be home the rest of the day. During that time, there were no school lunches and everybody went home for lunch. One of the neighbor boys was "in charge" of walking me back and forth to school; he was the son of my parents' good friends. On our walk home one day, he was with his pals and I was walking alone (he was keeping an eye on me). There was a black car across the street and a man offered me candy. Well, hey, it was candy! And I started across the street. 

Only to hear Johnny say, "Pam, NO!" The guy got back in his car and took off. Johnny grabbed my hand and we ran home. Got home, he told Mom what happened and it wasn't long til the cops came. I don't remember much about what happened after that. I know that we had to talk to the cops. But I don't remember anything else.

The building was yellow on the outside. I remember that we were expected to have a "quiet time". And I was in trouble a lot because I couldn't understand why we even needed "quiet time". Oh, and we had milk and a snack; on Thursdays we had chocolate milk. (Figures....I'd remember the food.  )

- I remember we all gathered on the big green circle at the beginning of class (I was in the afternoon kindergarten, so that started at noon, I think)
- Green clay; I would call it play-doh because I didn't know what "clay" was and it was play-doh as far as I was concerned
- Really liking my teacher; we were her last class before she retired, and they actually reached out to her to speak at our 8th grade graduation ceremony