Advice for a kindergarten father

Yes! Post that advice!!!! I too shall tread those waters soon.

At least my drive to school will not be as long as yours, Matt. Or is he taking the bus?

My baby started kindergarten this morning. My advice...if you are married, take tissues for your wife on the first day :)
Time goes by so fast...

Kristen Doyle
Recruiting Consultant
Building Block Consulting
http://www.linkedin.com/in/kristendoyle

Yes, my son started this morning too. Nobody was crying, but I am still stunned and have been periodically starting at some photos taken of him a few hours after he was born. Five years goes by way too quickly.

On the upside, he sat right down and started coloring along with the other kids at his little table. I was very proud of him.

He just came home and is wiped out, but he said he had a good time. How did yours do today?

Matt
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He did great as well. He walked right in his classroom and didn't even say bye! When I peeked in he looked at me with an "oops" look on his face and ran over and gave me a hug.
He had a blast. Today was much, much easier!

Glad to hear your day went well.

Kristen Doyle
Recruiting Consultant
Building Block Consulting
http://www.linkedin.com/in/kristendoyle

Aw. The sweet kindergarteners. :-)

This was Daniela's first day of Kindergarten too. All 4 of us went to "see her off" at the cafeteria. lol She did great, and was soooooo very excited. There was another little girl there, though, who was not doing very well, and neither was her mom. Those two almost made me cry. It was funny how you could tell the daycare kids from the stay-at-home ones there. Definitely a much easier day for the daycare kids.

Where in the world did the last 5 years go???

Start 'em now on a homework routine. After school snack, short quiet time, then draw, color, read, etc. for a short while. The length is not as important as the routine. Then when the real homework starts it will feel normal and not an imposition to playtime.

Kids are great. My youngest is 14.

Oh and if you ever have the chance to help the teacher, do it. Even something as simple as sorting papers for the weekly take home folder helps and they really appreciate it.

Get you know your child's teacher and other parents in the class. Keep in mind that for extroverted children at this age social interaction can have a strong impact on academic performance so try to schedule play dates and activities for your child with other children in the class as often as you can. Take advantage of parent teacher conferences and don't wait for your child's teacher to suggest advanced academic options - be aware of what your school offers and if you think your child is ready, push to get him/her in those programs. If not, don't sweat it - all kids progress at different rates and just because we are techie geeks doesn't mean our kids necessarily will be.

Misty Khan
President & CEO
Advena Artemis - creators of HuntreePro software suite
www.Arrow-Tips.com
www.HuntressPro.com

Pre-K and Kindergarten teachers are always looking for new ways to engage their students in educational activities. I make a point of introducing myself to the teacher and letting her/him know what sorts of hobbies (electronics), professional knowledge (geekiness), and collections (phosphorescent rocks) I have. Then I ask if I can supplement any of the lesson plan units by doing a show-and-tell, lending parts of my collections, or simply dropping in once in a while to read a story. Get some extra use out of your Halloween costumes by dressing up as a wizard to read The Frog Prince.

Also, find out if the children in the class have any sort of food allergies or sensitivities that should be taken into consideration when choosing snacks for the whole class. Lots of kids have problems with peanut butter, but some kids (like mine) have negative reactions to red #40 and other artificial additives.

This next bit is my attempt to be informative, not to be preachy. If your kids have major ADHD-like symptoms or go through mood swings and general irritability at random intervals, try removing red #40 from their diets for a week or so and see if things improve. For more information about eliminating food additives that might cause problems, see http://www.feingold.org

Thanks to everyone for the good advice. So far, things are going well at Kindergarten. Seem to be on good terms with the teacher, and he's already reading exceptionally well! I'm amazed every day.

Matt
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I remember when I sent my daughter to kindergarten. She was so happy to meet new friends but she came back that day crying, saying that all the boys were mean to her and that the teacher didn't do anything when she told her. I got her used to tell me about anything that happens instead of trying to fight it herself. She has a bigger sister that used to pick on her. I don't know if I still wanna keep her in there.
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link diversity

My only advise as a parent of a 26 year old and a 23 year old...is.....

If you are travelling more than 2-3 days a week, it's time to get another position. I worked for Digital Equipment until my son was 11 and my daughter was 8. At that age, you start missing out on plays, concerts, parents day...etc. My last two years at DEC were out on Sunday evening, 2-3 cities during the week and back late Friday evening. Saturday was spent mowing the yard, taking the family out to dinner. Sunday...going to church, re-packing he bags, and then back to the airport.

After 11 years with DEC, I packed it in and looked for another job. I wish I had done that 2 years earlier. One can always make a few more bucks, but there is no way to reverse the time machine of being with your kids.

And I know a lot of folks say...but our time together is always "quality time". Well, I have found that quality time evolves out of quantity time. It just happens. Try telling a 16 year old...OK...now we are going to have some quality time.... You'll see what I mean when yours are 12-16.

Oh...the things I would do different if I could do them again.