Preparing for Kindergarten

We've had a lot going on around here lately, so I have several things I need to blog about. But I thought I would focus on something different first.

Kindergarten.

6 weeks from Monday will be Garrett's first day of "big school". That is very hard to believe! Back at the beginning of summer, I made a mental list of all the things I wanted to do before school started that would specifically be getting us all ready for kindergarten. This week, we have begun marking some of them off the list.

Today we headed out in search of school uniforms. Our local (public) school district has a dress code policy which requires uniforms to be worn at all times unless otherwise stated. The uniform is khaki, navy, or black Docker-style pants or shorts with polo shirts that are red, navy, white, yellow, or black. There are a few more details that go into the dress code like acceptable footwear and other things. I personally love the idea of uniforms. I used to teach in a school district (not the same one) with uniforms too and that's when I saw how great they are. My goal is to have a pair of pants/shorts and a shirt for each day of the week, then do laundry on the weekend and repeat. I may end up buying more than that, but for now, that's the plan.

Thankfully The Children's Place sells school uniforms so we went there first and they were actually on sale! I had to get Garrett to try on some things to check the sizes. He's tall and skinny so that makes sizing him a little tough. But praise the Lord, TCP has adjustable waist bands in their pants. The ones that fit him well in the length look a little gathered at the waist when I have them adjusted where they need to be, but we have no other options. In another year or two, he may be ready to wear a belt on a daily basis, but I have no plans of sending my kindergartener off to school wearing a belt. Bathroom breaks would become much more difficult if I did and the last thing a teacher needs is one more child who needs help dressing and undressing just to use the restroom. Hopefully between a little laundry shrinkage and a tucked in shirt, the gathering will be kept to a minimum. The only thing TCP didn't have was a very good variety of colors in their uniform polo shirts. We didn't end up buying any shirts there because of that. At least shirts can be bought online without worrying quite as much about the size, so hopefully I'll find some with a good deal.

This week we have also started reviewing several basic things since it's been over a month since he was in preschool. We've started with letters and how to correctly hold the pencil. We'll move on to reviewing numbers and shapes once I think he's got a good grasp on everything again.

2 other things that I plan on doing between now and the first day of school are: 1. to pack his lunch exactly as it will be packed for any given school day and have him show me that he knows exactly how to open everything up and can handle it all independently. And 2. to wear his uniform a few days and practice with tucking his shirt back in after using the restroom along with buttoning and unbuttoning his pants. Most of his current shorts/pants either have an elastic waist or a snap.

I know I sound like a crazy person, but these are the things I think about. If I do all of this then on the first day of school it won't hit me at 10am that Garrett may be getting a bathroom break and walking down the hallway of school with his pants undone needing his teacher's help to fasten them.

I've also started slowly making my way through the school supply list as well. Hopefully I'll be able to find everything on the list without needing to make extra runs to many other stores in the area.

Anything else you would recommend I do to prepare him (and me!) for this big day?