Billy Coffey
Billy Coffey

Surviving kindergarten

August 30, 2009  

On life’s list of Big Moments, few can top the first day of kindergarten. Mostly because the emotions present on that day–excitement and disappointment, confidence and fear–pretty much remain a jumbled constant for the rest of our lives. Before kindergarten, the world is small and manageable. After? Big and scary.
Such was two Mondays ago for my son.
You may be able to decipher from the picture that there was a tad more disappointment and fear than excitement and confidence. At least for that moment. That’s okay, and I told him so. Not everyone is expected to jump headlong into academic life without bothering to glance backward to days that were free and relatively lazy. Besides, my first day of school? Not good.
Thankfully, by the time he walked out of the front doors and into the parking lot that afternoon, both his mood and his posture were vastly improved. My son had not only survived his first day of school, he had triumphed.
To find out how he did so, I invite you over to katdish’s blog. Take a few minutes to visit. School might be a distant memory for most of us, but that doesn’t mean the lessons of surviving kindergarten still can’t help us all…
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Comments

  • The Things We Carried

    Os, sweet little guy. This was good post and I appreciated your insight on KG being a picture of life's ride.

  • Gwen Stewart–Singer-Scribe

    Oh my goodness, Billy, those sweet Kindergartners. How appropriate that I'm sitting drinking coffee, awaiting my first "teacher" day of meetings at school? :)

    I hope and pray those horrible first days of school are a thing of the past. Teachers know so much more about child development and are much better at gearing school toward what works for kids rather than what works for adults than we used to be. We're by no means perfect, nor even close…but no teacher has an excuse for poor performance. Not with all the research and information available on the web about what makes kids happy and receptive to great learning!

    I pray your son continues to have a wonderful year. Wish I could be his music teacher! :)

  • Helen

    I hope he continues to enjoy school.

  • Kelly Combs

    I'm heading over. Because my daughter will enter kindergarten next Tuesday. ECK!

  • Jeanne Damoff

    What a doll baby! From his sun-tanned legs to his fuzzy head to all his shiny new school-boy accessories. Kind of makes my heart explode, and he's not even mine. All the best to you both!

  • Deborah Ann

    Hey, thanks for stopping in at 'Heavenly Humor' Billy! I love your website, and you're writing style.

    Blessings,
    Debby

  • T. Anne

    Aww… Bless your family. What a precious time.

  • Andrea

    Praising GOD for his triumph. As a mom, his little head tilted down saddened me. Thank you for sharing his victory with me, too.
    Blessings, andrea

  • katdish

    When and where I grew up, kindergarten was not offered at public schools yet, so my parents opted to put me in a private catholic kindergarten class.

    My teacher's name? Sister Shark. If I'm lying I'm dying. And she was aptly named as well.

  • ~*Michelle*~

    Oh man….I posted at Katdish's blog but couldn't NOT come here and let you know how sweet that story is…..what an amazing little man you are raisin' Billy.

    I have no doubt that he will be the beacon of light in that class/school.

    peace~

  • lynnrush

    Great post over there, Billy. I needed to read that today. **smile**

  • Heart2Heart

    Billy,

    Great post! It does seem like going to school for the first time was so long ago, and yet that fear and excitement seem to come around every year for our kids. They are excited to see friends that they missed over the summer and reconnect. They fear that things won't go like they imagine with this new year ahead.

    Only looking back in hindsight, it is always much better than our imaginations and fears made us believe.

    Love and Hugs ~ Kat

  • Blessed Mom of 8

    Sweet story Billy!

    What a lucky little man to have such a special and dedicated Dad! A father who is teaching he can trust his Father in heaven to take care of him and get him through the day!

    Blessings and prayers!
    Jill

  • Amy Bennett

    My daughter's first day was tough. It wasn't until 3 weeks later until she quit crying. But all is well in 1st grade. Glad your little man recovered quickly!

  • A Simple Country Girl

    My little fella's first day of kindergarten/1st grade was today. And since we home school, he better not refer to his teacher by anything other than "mamma" or he's gonna call you and find out the location of that big ole tractor tire!

    Me, I cannot recall teacher's names or even my first day of school. I wonder if that is normal?

  • Mich

    Oh, I can remember three different first days of kindergarten…mine and those belonging to both my kids.

    My son walked right in, found his desk sat down, looked around at a few tearful faces and then looked at me and said "you can go now. I'm big." I was the one crying that day, for he had grown up…

  • Jennifer

    Sounds like daddy surviving was a hard thing, too. How fast they grow.

  • Anne L.B.

    I can hardly stand the sight of those little slumped shoulders, no matter how the day ended.

    I'm glad to hear he (and you) survived better than I would have. I think my man card just lapsed.

  • Beth in NC

    Oh Billy. He is so precious. My little one starts preschool next week and I can hardly stand to think about it!