The last few weeks of school were very very busy for Nolan. He had Field Day, Inflatables Day, Records Day, “End of the Year” Awards Assembly, and of course an “End of the Year” Party. It was seriously out of control! Between me, Scott, MiMi and Nana we had all the events covered – but seriously – what did all those full time working parents without local grandparents do? Nolan had a wonderful first year of school. I couldn’t have asked for a better teacher for Nolan! Mrs Maurer should be the goal for all of my friends who teach Kindergarten. Truly she is so in control yet so sweet and loving - the perfect balance especially for Kinder. She is a mom of three boys and has been teaching for 20 years! If those two experiences don’t make you the best, I am not sure what else could! I cried Nolan’s last day because I just know how much she has helped shape the future of Nolan’s schooling. She has taught and nourished his love of learning. Last year in pre-k, he had a tough teacher and it was kinda scary going into Kindergarten – his behavior could have gone either way. Thank God for Mrs. Maurer. She totally changed his perception of school and following rules and I will be forever grateful for that. I am so proud of Nolan and the young boy he has become - on to first grade!
I love this excerpt from Robert Fulghum’s book –
All I Really Need To Know I Learned In Kindergarten
ALL I REALLY NEED TO KNOW about how to live and what to do
and how to be I learned in kindergarten. Wisdom was not
at the top of the graduate-school mountain, but there in the
sandpile at Sunday School. These are the things I learned:
Share everything.
Play fair.
Don't hit people.
Put things back where you found them.
Clean up your own mess.
Don't take things that aren't yours.
Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody.
Wash your hands before you eat.
Flush.
Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.
Live a balanced life - learn some and think some
and draw and paint and sing and dance and play
and work every day some.
Take a nap every afternoon.
When you go out into the world, watch out for traffic,
hold hands, and stick together.
Be aware of wonder.
Remember the little seed in the styrofoam cup:
The roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody
really knows how or why, but we are all like that.
Goldfish and hamsters and white mice and even
the little seed in the Styrofoam cup - they all die.
So do we.
And then remember the Dick-and-Jane books
and the first word you learned - the biggest
word of all - LOOK.
Everything you need to know is in there somewhere.
The Golden Rule and love and basic sanitation.
Ecology and politics and equality and sane living.
Take any of those items and extrapolate it into
sophisticated adult terms and apply it to your
family life or your work or your government or
your world and it holds true and clear and firm.
Think what a better world it would be if
all - the whole world - had cookies and milk about
three o'clock every afternoon and then lay down with
our blankies for a nap. Or if all governments
had a basic policy to always put thing back where
they found them and to clean up their own mess.
And it is still true, no matter how old you
are - when you go out into the world, it is best
to hold hands and stick together.
