It’s the night before Kindergarten Orientation.
Yes, in May. It snuck up on me. It’s not that I didn’t have the date highlighted in hot pink or anything…I did. It’s just that when you’ve spent almost 5 years glued to a certain little girl, you don’t exactly believe the date will ever arrive.
She’s never spent a day in daycare or any formal preschool setting. It’s been just the two of us against the world. The world of shapes, letters, numbers, sight words, crafts, potty training…oh, the potty training…but, I digress.
So, here I sit the night before kindergarten orientation. My mind is in a million different places. Wishing I could ask my mom how she handled me heading off to school, wondering if my daughter will run out of class headed towards home like her aunt did, disappointed that I still see school signs misspelling the word “Kindergarten”, and wondering why I’m sitting here at midnight with a ton left to do.
I’m guessing that I’m not the only one dealing with this, so to procrastinate further, here are my tips for surviving Kindergarten Orientation:
- Make sure YOU have a nice, clean outfit to wear. Even if most days we’d likely find you in pajamas or comfy clothes, now is probably not the time to announce that to the teachers. You can wait and show off your cute flannel pajamas in the morning drop-off line come August. On that same note, don’t forget to get rid of the chipped paint on your toes, and choose between wearing a hat and coloring those roots (yes, I’m 40!)
- Don’t wait until the night before to gather all the “must-have” documents. Things like a social security card, birth certificate, immunization records, and the all important proof of residency. Chances are you haven’t needed that social security card since the first time you named the child as a dependent on your tax form.
- Whatever you do, DON’T get sidetracked and look through old baby albums and scrapbooks, wondering where all the time has gone. Just don’t. Resist. Don’t. Trust me on this.
- Eat something. On second thought, if you pass out from hypoglycemia, it might be a good way to see if the school nurse knows a few things!
Yes, tomorrow is orientation. I can’t sleep. I’ve got butterflies in my stomach. All of a sudden I feel like I’m the one starting school. Help!
Side Note: Yes, I might be doing laundry as I type this. Oh, and my toes are freshly painted. Now…where’s that social security card?