Life After I "Dew"

Are you guys tired of hearing about Kindergarten yet?

I apologize.

It's just kindergarten is such a big milestone.  Our first BIG one.  Sure there's the first tooth, first word, first steps and those are all BIG, exciting milestones but there's just something about kindergarten that slaps you in the face.  It's in a league all of it's own.

Honestly, I feel like, for years I've been watching other bloggers send their babies off to kindergarten and never really thought about the day I'd be doing the same.  It's one of those things that seems too far away to really worry about but in the blink of an eye it's your turn.

I'm the type of person who doesn't really dwell on or anticipate things much before they actually happen; I tend to just deal with them once they are happening.  I don't know if that's a blessing or curse but I kind of like that about myself.  I like to think it's easier this way because then I'm not making myself ill for days leading up to said "thing" rather I am just forced to make the best of it.

Anywho....

Kindergarten.

So there were a few things we did to "survive" the first day.  Some were done to help me, others to help her.  I thought I'd share how we are making the most of this transition.

1.  The Lunch Box. So I've seen 5 million and one posts on IG showcasing these amazing lunchboxes and these really fancy organizers.  I can't lie, these lunches made me jealous.  But more than making me jealous they made me feel inferior so I ran to the supermarket in search of a lunch system myself only to find all of them were too big for any one of Kendall's four styles of lunchbox {when your birthday is so close to BTS you get lots of lunchboxes}.  Left to my own devices I thought, "I survived without one of these fancy contraptions and so will she". And I packed her lunch with Ziploc baggies and Rubbermaid containers.  GASP!  But to make hers special I included a little note and a picture of our family taped to the lid.  I thought she'd appreciate that more than a $40 lunch organizer anyway.


2. Something Old.  Kendall loves her little pink blankie.  She's had it since she was a baby and I don't even remember how it became her thing.  She takes it everywhere and, as a matter of fact, it's barely pink anymore instead it's taken on a darker, dingier color that resembles a greyish brown because "it's so loved".  We pack it in her backpack every day.  She doesn't get it out at school but something about knowing its not too far away makes her feel better.  We started doing this when she went to preschool and if it helps her get through the day I'm OK with it.

3.  Ready Confetti.  I so wish I could take credit for this one.  Kendall has the most coveted teacher of kinder, from what I hear.  When we had parent night I could tell that Mrs. Shaffer was good, like really good, so when we found out she had her I was THRILLED.  We may have been on a 4 hour road trip when we found out and we may or may not have done a little happy car dance.  But anyway...on meet the teacher night she handed each of the kids a little baggie full of confetti along with a poem. You were to sprinkle the confetti around your bed the night before the first day and it was going to help you sleep better and wake up excited and ready for kindergarten.  If that's not the cutest thing you've heard of I don't know what is.  Kendall loved this and I thought it was just a darling way for the kids to get excited about their teacher.
4. One High, One Low.  This is something I adopted after the first day and wish I would have done on the first day but you live and you learn.  So her first day was hard for her.  It was a longer day than she's used to and there was some "friend drama" that left her feeling a little upset. There were lots of tears and "I don't wanna go back to kindergartey".  I realized that maybe I had overwhelmed her with too many, "did you have fun?", "how was lunch?", "did you like your teacher?", "who did you play with?", "how was recess?", "what was your classroom like?",  "who did you sit with?", and so on.  So, now, I am asking her to share one good thing from the day and one "bad"thing and leaving it at that.  If she wants to share more GREAT but I don't want her to feel overwhelmed to share if she doesn't want to.

What are some of your tricks and tips for surviving kindergarten?  Please share below!