Kindergarten Countdown

The Squid starts kindergarten this August and I'm thinking of starting a pool around who's more excited - me or the Squid. Classes start on Aug 27 - or maybe it's the Aug. 28 - but first we have to get through Kindergarten Round-up on March 22.

I don't know the time, but the date is already plugged into my phone. I have to go to the dentist and give a talk that day, but it'll all be worked around the roundup at Northrich Elementary.

Since friends have been debating lately whether to send their kid to kindergarten or hold him back, I'm almost afraid to admit that the thought never crossed my mind. I've never even considered the possibility that the Squid wouldn't start school this fall. She'll turn 5 in June, so she'll be on the younger side, but she won't be the youngest.

Here's why I haven't considered it:

She's incredibly social - I fully expect to get letters from from school about the Squid passing notes, talking in class, etc. She'll probably surprise me, but she's a total social butterfly compared to me at that age. Definitely a first-child in terms of stubbornness, and she can be a bit overbearing, but she's incredibly dedicated to whatever she's working on and she can focus (if she wants to).

As for the basic skills, she's still perfecting writing the alphabet, but she knows all her letters, is comfortable counting, and is starting to recognize words that are written down. She also works well with others, and genuinely thinks about things before she answers a question - a skill her mother could use some work on from time to time. She still blurts random comments out from time to time, but that's her parents fault. (If nothing else, blame the parents, right??).

She also knows her address and her parents' real names (not just mommy and daddy). We probably need to teach her our phone number - she's not getting a cell phone for kindergarten.

Is there anything else she needs to do to prep for kindergarten??