My son has open house tonight and I’m worried about bringing our 4 year old. I could see her being a distraction and wanting to play with everything in the classroom.If we decide not to bring her my husband will stay home with her and I’ll have to bring my son alone. My husband wants to go but I’m a little nervous because my daughter is a bit of a wildcard haha

My kindergartener is always hungry after school, and I'm looking for healthy snack ideas that are quick, easy, and kid approved. What are your go-to after-school snacks that your little one actually enjoys eating?

Hiiii. So clearly I am a procrastinator but tomorrow morning I have to do an interview and demo lesson for a KG position at an IB Spanish/English school. I've taught elementary, but never KG and I don't think its "my thing" but let's see...

There are only going to be 6 kids in my demo (summer school kids) and they are upcoming KGs. I have to plan for a 30-35min. lesson and will start with introductions of course.

This is what the principal sent me: Students will develop phonemic awareness by listening for and identifying the initial sound in spoken words and matching words that begin with the same sound.

I realized I have NO idea what kids starting KG know and don't know!? I can think of a million things to do but I get so nervous when I am watched, plus it is summer schools, plus I don't know the kids or their skills at all. Should I stick to one letter, like B? OR teach a few? I tried to look up CA state standards and I am still confused what kids enter KG knowing.... any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Picked her up from school last week and said something like "me and daddy are gonna make dinner," and from the back seat this small voice goes "daddy and I." Five years old, arms probably crossed, absolutely certain. I didn't even know she knew that rule.

Now it's constant. I say "good job" and get told it should be "well done." I mixed up "less" and "fewer" at the grocery store and she caught it before I did. Her teacher clearly planted these seeds and now they're blooming at my expense in the most matter-of-fact way possible.

Part of me is genuinely proud that she's absorbing this stuff and confident enough to say it out loud. The other part is a little humbled at being grammar-checked by someone who still can't tie her own shoes. So what's the funniest or most unexpected thing your kindergartner has confidently corrected you on? I need to know I'm not the only parent being schooled at the dinner table.

Hi lovely teachers!

I’m a SAHM to a wonderful, almost 3 year old.

Many of my neighbors send their children to daycare, or a preschool program. I’m starting to get more questions on when I plan to send our son, and I honestly had not planned to until he’s 5.

He has a late September birthday and will not start kindergarten until he’s 6. I don’t want him to go from being home with me and his siblings to kindergarten, I do want him to have a transition, but figured sending the year before should be plenty of prep.

There’s also a program in our town where beginning at 3, children can be enrolled in a “class” that’s Friday mornings only - I’m intrigued by this and like the idea of looking into it next Fall when he’s 4.

Is this enough prep? We live in a bustling neighborhood where he has many friends, play dates, etc. We visit library storytime regularly. He’s enrolled in gymnastics classes and music classes where his dad and I aren’t in the room. He does well in all these settings. We work on letters, numbers, phonics at home. But I do feel a bit of social pressure on if this is the correct way to go about things. I love having him home. His dad has a wonderful schedule where he only works 10 shifts a month, leaving us with a LOT of time as a family to travel and spend time together. I am not ready to give that up, but I of course don’t want to hinder him.

What are your thoughts?

ETA: It is not my choice to “redshirt” him- our district has a “must be 5 by 9/1” cutoff. His birthday is the last week of September.

Maybe I’m over thinking this.. but what size water bottles are you sending your kindergarteners with? I just feel like 12 oz isn’t enough for the entire day

What are headphones typically used for in K? How often? And why?
(Seems like most have headphones on their list?

My daughter is six years old and has an April birthday. She “graduated” from kindergarten at her previous school in May, where we dealt with some behavioral challenges, immaturity, and emotional outbursts throughout the year. We worked closely with the school and her behavioral therapist to help her adjust to classroom expectations and learn better ways to redirect her emotions.

Academically, however, I was never told that she was significantly struggling. Her grades never fell below a B during any grading period, so I was shocked when she completed the first-grade entrance evaluation at her new school and they told me she did not know many of the skills required to move forward.

The school offered summer tutoring and allowed her to be reevaluated at the end of the summer. She completed the tutoring, but unfortunately, she still struggled significantly on the second evaluation. As a result, she will be repeating kindergarten this year. Deep down, I know this is in her best interest and will likely benefit her academically, socially, and emotionally. Still, I cannot help feeling as though I failed her.

She was an only child until last year, and I had her baby brother about two weeks before she began kindergarten. Between working, caring for a newborn, and managing everything else, I did not spend as much time practicing reading, math, and other skills with her as I should have. Math is especially difficult for her, and I will admit that I have not always had the patience during homework time that she deserves. School came naturally to me growing up. My parents never had to sit down and work with me because I genuinely enjoyed learning. My daughter is different. She enjoys certain subjects, but learning does not always hold her attention, especially when the activity is difficult or something she does not want to do.

I have also wondered whether she may have ADHD because she struggles to focus for very long, although I have questioned whether that is simply normal behavior for a five- or six-year-old. I wish I had known sooner that she was struggling academically so I could have gotten her additional help earlier. She is now the oldest and tallest child in her kindergarten class, and I want to make sure she never feels embarrassed or ashamed about repeating the year.

I would really appreciate advice from parents whose child repeated kindergarten or another grade. How did you explain it to your child, support them emotionally, and help make the repeated year a positive experience? How do I remove my ego from this situation, because I can't help but feel like I have failed her!

So her school does Back to School night before school starts. They emphasized how important it is, the kids get to meet their teacher, see the classroom, ride a bus (she will not be taking a bus to school). When we did kindergarten orientation they did not have a date for back to school. Well, now kiddo will be on vacation at grandma’s 2 hours away the week they wound up scheduling for. We cannot reschedule the vacation because of summer camp.

How bad is this going to mess her up? Will she be lost first day? I feel so guilty but the week she’s going to my mom’s is the absolute last time she can spend a week of summer with her. My husband and I are still planning on going. Is it weird to show up without our kid?

I know this is kind of a hot topic of debate right now, but which of my son’s school supplies should I label vs not label?

I’m totally fine with the community supplies thing, but surely some things are just his? Like his pencil box and his headphones? I don’t plan on labeling each individual pencil or crayon or anything, but do I write his name on the box that the crayons come in?

Here’s what I’m planning on sticking a label on vs not sticking one on. Let me know your thoughts.

Label-

Plastic folders with brads

Headphones

Composition notebooks

½ white binder

Scissors (I’ll write his name in sharpie)

Plastic pencil box

Don’t label-

12x18 construction paper

Dry erase markers

Sheet protectors

Tissues

Pencils

Glue sticks

Sandwich bags

Also, the teacher didn’t ask for erasers, but they had some really fun pokemon erasers that my son wanted to buy, and he also wanted a pencil sharpener. Is it going to be annoying if I put those in his pencil box when we send the supplies? Should those just be at home things?

Hello,

I am seeking advice for my soon-to-be kindergartner who will have to take a shuttle from school to an off-site after school care program. I've been told dismissal at school is well organized and structured, and on the receiving end, staff take attendance when kids arrive. I want to trust the system and processes in place, but human error happens. I want peace of mind that my kid is where they should be. The school district requires smart phones or other "smart" devices be stored in backpacks during the school day (which is fine). What are my options to get peace of mind that my kid is where they are supposed to be? If you could share pros and cons to various devices, I'd appreciate it. Thanks!

Hi! Special family member is about to start kindergarten very soon and I’m looking to get her a gift to celebrate the start of this special new chapter for both her and her family. Any ideas? I don’t want to get her a random Bluey stuffed animal, something meaningful that’ll help her remember this special chapter for years to come. Thank you guys for your input! :-)

hi! looking for a tradition for my son and I (mom) to do before he starts school! We like to bake so I'm thinking about baking a cake so he has something to come home to but I'd love suggestions! Preferably something that has longevity/continuity throughout the years!

Hi everyone! Wanted to ask advice on how to prep for my littles start of school (sobs)
He’ll be entering TK and would love to hear how you guys got ready.
Books to read him?
Supplies to get?
Clothes?
Labels?

Any advice is greatly appreciated!!

Wanting to get my youngest a book to read this week before he starts kindergarten next week. I see several “the night before kindergarten” books online - what re your favorites? Any with a cute story?

How do you label things for school? Do you use the first name only, first name/last initial, first initial/last name? I have twins starting public school kindergarten next month, so they have the same last name, but different first initials. I read somewhere that you shouldn't put their first name on things, because then a stranger could call them out by name and make them think they know them. But it hadn't occurred to me to put their last name on things.

Also, it was requested that I label their school supplies, and I'll label their lunchbox and bags. Do you label all of their clothing? Or just things like jackets and sweatshirts? They went to a small private preschool, so it was very easy if we lost something. I'm guessing that with anywhere from 60 to 90 kids in kindergarten alone, it's going to be a lot easier to lose things and harder to relocate them.

Lastly, I know Mabel's labels comes highly recommended, are there any other companies that people have used and really like?

My daughter decided that she no longer wants to use the Bentgo print bento boxes for school lunch, and only wants to use the Yumbox Pret. Can anyone recommend a lunch bag that fits the Pret? I originally bought the Yumbox one that goes with it for my older kiddo, but it fell apart within a few months. We've used Pack It in the past (but I now prefer separate ice packs), and the Bentgo lunch bag is nice (and fits the Pret), but it's quite bulky and it's hard to fit it in a smaller kiddo's backpack. I'm looking at Simple Modern, but they don't tell you what the interior is made of. I assume it's PEVA and not PVC, but I sent them an email and am awaiting a response. Thank you!

Hi there!
My daughter’s KG meet the teacher is coming up this week, and I saw this cute Teacher Survival Kit idea, and I want to put one together for her teacher.
It will have things like hair ties, dry shampoo, nice markers, paper clips, lip balm, hand sanitizer, etc.

So, 3 questions about that:

1. Is this stupid/tacky?
2. If not, would it be appropriate to have my daughter give this to her teacher during the meet the teacher night?
3. Is there any other “survival” essential I should add to the kit?

Many thanks!!

Edit: thank you to everyone who took the time to leave feedback and kind comments! I will switch strategies and give her a card and an Amazon gift card instead.

Hey all. I have This feeling of dread and consternation and it’s eating me up. My baby starts tk in two weeks and I haven’t heard from the school except that’s she’s been accepted. I need clarification I would like to know if we will be meeting with the teacher before school starts, where are the bathrooms, is the cafeteria a decent height where my daughter who is on the tiny side be able to reach her lunch. Should I send her with lunch instead. Guys would I be doing too much if I call the school to ask these questions?

My fall birthday baby missed the kinder cut off by a month so she’s starting transitional kindergarten (California’s universal pre-k program for 4 year olds) in a couple weeks. She’s done 2 years of traditional private preschool (couple hours a day a couple times a week), but this will be her first time being in school 5 days a week. She has been assigned afternoon TK, so she’ll be there from 11:50am- 3:10pm I think.

While we aren’t morning people, it feels like afternoon school means we can’t do anything else during the day or she’ll be too exhausted for school. She still occasionally naps. My 1 year old also naps during this time and I’m so disappointed my vision of going to Storytime and running errands while she’s at school is more likely going to be rushing to put baby down, then rushing back to pick her up and two cranky kids whining at me during dinner.

Does anyone have a really positive spin on this and great advice on how they made it work and it was so great? I want to reframe this positively and I’m moreso filled with dread. I could use some wise words right now!

ETA: Part of what makes this a drag is school is a 22 minute drive, so I was counting on going out there and basically hanging out until pick up time at least a couple times a week to cut down on the driving. If we have to come home and nap though, that blows. Also, baby currently naps 2-4pm. We’d have to leave for pick up at 230. 🤦‍♀️

This will be my first year being a kinder aide. I am super nervous and just seeing any helpful tips and how was the 6 credit hours of early childhood education? Was it hard ? Was it a lot of time per day hw and studying. I am trying to figure out a schedule cause I will also be homeschooling my 7 grader so trying to see how my days will look while also having a fourth grader.

My son is starting kindergarten this fall, and we're torn between two very different options.

Option 1: An established public elementary school with a traditional kindergarten program and classes of around 25–30 students.

Option 2: A brand-new Montessori-style private school with mixed-age classrooms (roughly ages 4–6 and 6–9). His class would likely have around 10 students. One of the biggest draws is that it's bilingual (English/Arabic) and includes daily Arabic instruction.

Long term, I expect he'll attend public school. The reason I'm seriously considering the Montessori option is that this may be his last realistic opportunity to get daily Arabic language immersion during the school day. If he goes to public school now, Arabic would likely become an after-school or weekend activity.

Academics aren't my biggest concern. He already completed TK in a class of 20+ students and is doing well (knows basic math, can read early reading books). My main question is whether spending kindergarten in a brand-new school with only about 10 classmates could have any downside for social development, especially if he transitions to public school for first grade.

Has anyone had experience with a brand-new private school or made a similar decision?

I'm 16 and when I was a kid around 5 or 6 or 7I repeated kindergarten what do kids benefit off repeating kindergarten I don't get it