Kindergarten Memories
A few years ago I held a giveaway contest for The LAST Day of Kindergarten. Folks shared their kindergarten memories on my website, and then a winner was randomly selected. (Heather won—she was the lady who was dropped off for morning kindergarten when she belonged in afternoon kindergarten, and had to spend her morning sitting in the cafeteria. So glad her story paid off for her, years later!)
Thanks to everyone who entered. Your stories are great!
***
I remember story time and sitting on the braided rug and playing with the girl’s long hair who sat in front of me. My teacher sat and read to us from her white rocking chair. Once I got in trouble for putting my scissors too close to another’s child’s face! My teacher had platinum blond hair! Tomorrow’s my 38th birthday and I still remember so many details from kindergarten! (Krissy)
***
I didn’t go to kindergarten, but this year my 5-year-old is in kindergarten and she fell off the monkey bars and had a sore back but is ok. She scared her poor teacher so bad that the next day she came home and said that the teacher told her she couldn’t get on the monkey bars anymore. My 5-year-old looked at me and said, “For the rest of my life I am never allowed to get on the monkey bars because I fell. I am so glad my teacher didn’t see me fall off my bike!” (Meme)
***
I remember the first day that my mom dropped me off at school. I remember standing in front of the doors while she took a picture and hugged me goodbye… I’m sad and excited to do the same for my kids. (Maegan)
***
I have a student who is so sweet and likes to talk a lot. One day as I was walking by and the kids were working I heard a few other students telling her that she talks a lot. So she said back to them, “I know I talk a lot…that’s why they named me Gabi…for you know Gabbing? Like talking a lot!” I thought that was so cute! (Natalie)
***
My first day teaching kindergarten I had the shocking experience of hearing a voice call out from the boys’ bathroom, “Mrs. Miyagawa, can you come wipe my butt?”
After trying not to burst out laughing, my reply was, “No, you need to do that yourself now that you are in Kindergarten!” (Ruth)
***
Several years ago I taught kindergarten in Lakeville. Occasionally, several members of the staff were required to participate in in-services together that were held during the school day. When this happened, the school secretary arranged for substitutes to come in and cover our classes. One morning after an in-service I asked the class how everything had gone the day before. Jenny, my self-appointed monitor, made sure to let me know that Ryan had laughed at the substitute’s name (Mr. Berg). Ryan defended himself emphatically, stating that he thought his name was Mr. Bird. “Well,” I countered, “Even if his name WAS Mr. Bird, you should never make fun of someone’s name. I hope this won’t happen again.”
Two weeks later, our follow up in-service was held, and subs were again randomly assigned. When I got back to my classroom after everyone had left, there was a lovely note from the substitute telling me how smoothly everything had gone and how well-behaved everyone was. It was signed Alicia Byrd. (Andrea)
***
A memory I have of kindergarten is one of my son Jose’s. In his daycare, there were four school-age kids, but only two were in kindergarten. On the last day of school, the two little kindergarteners were eating lunch at daycare and almost didn’t make it to the last day. They were both sobbing at the lunch table, realizing it was their LAST DAY of kindergarten for ever and ever!! Sobbing uncontrollably, both of them, one girl and one boy (my son). They sobbed all through lunch and while getting on the bus for the last time for kindergarten!! It was such a cute story! (Brenda)
***
I remember being so excited to finally ride the bus and go to school like my big sister. (Karen)
***
I remember my first day; it was embarrassing for me. In kindergarten, we only went half a day. Some students went the first half while others went the second half. My mom was working two jobs at the time so she had her cousin come pick me up and take me to my first day. She didn’t get out or anything, just dropped me off at the front door. I was thinking I was so late because it was already 8:30 and I hadn’t gotten to eat breakfast yet so I just knew I missed that. I walk in alone and upset.
I went in to sit down and my seat was taken so the teacher came over to ask what was wrong. I soon found out that I wasn’t supposed to be there until the second half of the day! I had no one to take me home at that point, so they sent me to the lunchroom to sit all day until it was my turn for class.
At least the lunch ladies came out and made me my own breakfast, and I got to help them a little bit. I still remember the smell, and the feeling of the cold table as I sat there waiting & waiting. (Heather)
***
I remember a boy kicking me while we sat on the floor for story time. When I turned around to tell him to stop, I got in trouble for talking. I didn’t tell the teacher what happened, but cried later at home because it was all so unfair. (Loretta)
***
What I remember most about kindergarten is naptime. Every afternoon after lunch we got out our mats and “rested.” I don’t remember how long we were supposed to rest, but it felt like forever to me! If we fell asleep we would get a gold star; if we rested quietly we got a silver star; if we did neither--bupkes [nothing]! At the end of the YEAR I had only four stars. I dreaded naptime! Ironic that now as a mother of two, a full-time student, and wife, I would love to nap every afternoon! (Carlene)
***
I, too, loved kindergarten, but the incident I remember most vividly involved keeping it clean and probably gives away just how old I am. Washington Elementary had two adjoining kindergarten classrooms. Dividing the two rooms was a cloak room and the aforementioned lavatories. One of my male classmates found out just what it is like to have one’s mouth washed out with soap when he declared one of our (mostly) dear teacher’s directions to be “bullsh*t.” I can still remember his dark brown bowl cut shaking violently as he frothed at the mouth. I’m a little surprised he didn’t earn the nick name ‘mad dog’. (Sandra)
***
I loved kindergarten! When I arrived at class I immediately took out my crayon box and looked at my teacher for direction because I was ready to make something. My older sister said that was what we would do in kindergarten, so I did not want to waste any time! (Kara)
***
The kindergarten teacher was teaching the days of the week. When she completed reciting them all, my brother, Jim, raised his hand and said, “You forgot one--payday!” (Kathy)
***
On my first day of kindergarten, I remember standing at the end of our driveway holding my mom’s hand. The sky was a brilliant blue color. An enormous yellow bus came around the corner to pick me up. The door opened and the driver welcomed me aboard. He said his name was Mr. Brown and that the bus had a name too—Sassafras! He told me he and Sassafras loved to take kids to school. As we drove away, he began to sing “Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah.” What a great start to a first day of school! (Laura)
***
I remember sitting on a circle letter that started with my last name. Also I remember “Louie” the janitor bringing us milk every day. (Erin)
***
I remember several things from kindergarten, but one that stands out was having the last name of Longenecker… and one of the boys asking me if I knew what necking meant. (Terri)
***
I remember getting a new shorts outfit in my Easter nest and I had to wait to wear it at the last day of school picnic.
I remember going to the auditorium to get the polio vaccine. (Yes I’m old.) We waited in line FOREVER! They gave us a little cup with a very sugary liquid in it. I think we had to do this a couple of times.
We also had county music day. We had to sing two songs and every school (mostly rural) had to perform. It lasted all afternoon. (Janet)
***
The first day of school, during our first milk break, I was opening my very first little carton of milk, and as I was opening the end, my teacher came by and chewed me out for opening the wrong end. She told me I was supposed to open the side that said “open this end.” Good to know, but I could not read yet!
Then there was the day that I took it very seriously when our teacher told us to be quiet. My friend was talking to me so I told her, “please be quiet.” It was at that moment I got in trouble for talking, and had to go stand in the corner! Bum rap I tell you! LOL! (Michelle)
***
I remember the first day…I had my clear ice cream pail filled with school supplies. I remember riding on the bus holding onto my pail…and I can still remember the smell of the glue sticks that I used. Every time I smell something like that smell it takes me right back to kindergarten. (Lisa)
***
I was going up to the school door when someone opened it from the other side- I was knocked out and woke up with my dad standing over me in the principal’s office. (Donna)
***
I remember my teacher, Mrs. Hino, reading The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Still one of my most favorite picture books ever! (Ruth)
***
I am really old…. there was no public kindergarten! There was a private kindergarten. I remember the seesaws and learning to sing “When the Saints Go Marching In.” (MJ)
***
I always loved to draw. When it was music time and Miss Gustafson, my kindergarten teacher, called everyone else to the piano to sing, she would allow me to stay at my table and keep drawing. Thank you for making me feel like an artist even when I was six years old, Miss Gustafson! (David)
***
When I was in kindergarten, I was the child with leg braces, glasses, and corrective shoes, but my teacher thought the world of me! I always felt beautiful and my mind was constantly challenged. I knew I would never forget her, and that I wanted to be a teacher just like Mrs. Dunn! Then, about 18 years later, I did become a teacher….a kindergarten teacher (wait for it) also named Mrs. Dunn. (Deedee)
***
I will always remember singing with the teacher playing the piano. Always one of my favorite times of the day in kindergarten! (Susan)
***
Surprisingly, I only have two strong memories from kindergarten back in 1969. One of them is of Mrs. Lind, my kind teacher (who seemed to be 105 years old, but was probably closer to 45) and the other a grumpy redheaded boy (whose name I also remember but choose not to share) who called me ugly names because of my Latin American heritage. I just didn’t understand, because his dad and mine were supposedly good friends. Fortunately, my teacher sat him down and explained that he was being mean. Thank you Mrs. Lind! (Maria)
***
I don’t have very many fond memories of my own kindergarten experience, but as a kindergarten teacher, I have many wonderful memories. One year I had a little girl who had a birthday near the end of school. All little kids are usually excited for their birthdays, but not her. She even asked if we could stop doing calendar, because she didn’t want her birthday to come. When we finally figured out why, she said she didn’t want to turn six. She knew that when she turned six, kindergarten would be almost over and she would have to go to first grade, and she didn’t want to leave the comfort of our classroom. (Tracey)
***
My earliest memory of kindergarten was taking home Curious George for the weekend and writing about all the fun things we did. Well, I didn’t write, my parents did but I remember drawing a picture. (Lori)
***
I won the blue ribbon in the school art fair for my painting, “Picnic In The Park” and when my parents told me, I remember not understanding that I was supposed to be excited. What was a blue ribbon to a six-year-old, after all? It wasn’t candy or a toy! But I saw that my mom and dad were proud, so eventually, I decided I should be proud, too. (Shannon)
***
I have no memories of kindergarten as I was adopted to the USA when I was almost eight. Instead my most memorable memory of first grade was my first day of school which was in January 1976. Now you have to understand I arrived from Korea on Dec 16, 1975… the only English word I knew was “mommy,” which I was very proud to know as I learned that in Korea…What I do remember is a boy calling me a bad name, which I could tell by his tone of voice. I punched him in the face and gave him a black eye. Mrs. Walker, my teacher, made me sit in the corner until I apologized… problem was I didn’t know how to say the words, so I sat in the corner most of the day… The boy I punched grew up to be a police officer. I try to not run into him too much now… (Andrea)
***
My strongest memory from kindergarten was the mountain lion on the playground. A little girl who was playing atop the monkey bars saw him first and told one of the monitors that there was a very big cat near the swing set. Recess was quickly and quietly cut short with none of the kids knowing why until we got back into the classroom. When the lion wranglers came to the school we all fought for space near the windows to catch a glimpse! (Christina)
***
I remember the kid who always picked his nose at circle time. (Jesse)
***
I remember being stressed about having to memorize my address. (Nicole)
***
One day our teacher told us we needed to tell her our phone number by week’s end. I told my mom this and she proceeded to help me learn it….”but Mom, why can’t you just write it down on paper and then I can give it to her?” I wasn’t thrilled to find out I actually had to memorize it. (Linda)
***
The night before my first day I had laid out my outfit, shoes, and had planned exactly how I was going to do my hair. I remember barely being able sleep I was so excited. The morning arrived and Mom was rushing me getting me ready. Mom and I walked across the street to wait for the bus and I guess my anxiety got the best of me. I ended up vomiting at the bus stop! Because of this I wasn’t even able to go to my first day of kindergarten. Kinda sad but I remember that day vividly! (Melissa)
***
I loved my kindergarten teacher, Miss Alred. The last day of kindergarten I must have gone back into the room at least three times to tell her goodbye before my mom finally got me to go home with her. (Lois)
***
Alas, I skipped kindergarten and first grade, so my first day at school was 2nd grade. I remember donning my black uniform, black leather shoes, and white collar, which felt all too tight on my neck, welcoming me to the world of formal (i.e. uncomfortable) attire. I also remember the moment I left my mother’s hand to hold my teacher’s big and callused hand. I was shocked by the poor reading level of my classmates, and they with my hieroglyphic handwriting, which has not improved at all, much to the suffering of my teachers, who tactfully guided me to a career in computers. (Kut) [from Turkey]
***
I fell off the monkey bars, and the teacher held the flat side of a table knife to keep the bump on my head from swelling. (Donna)
***
I was bussed across town to kindergarten, from my predominantly white neighborhood. The bus rides took forever, and my mom admitted recently that it would have been a short walk for her to take me–the school was only a few blocks away, but on the proverbial other side of the tracks, and she didn’t want to pack up my little sister every day for the walk. (I’m not resentful, mostly.) The only thing I really remember about kindergarten, though, is the day another girl in the class barfed all over her workbook, and I got sent home, too, because I couldn’t stop crying after seeing all that barf. Such a happy kindergarten memory. (Melanie)
***
It was one of the first few days of kindergarten, and I remember bringing in a form to my teacher for a field trip. The top of the form had my teacher’s full name on it, and I thought that since I knew her first name I could address her as “Tina” rather than “Mrs. Marler.” It did not go over well. (Kristina)
***
On the first day of kindergarten, when they gave us a tour, they pointed out the “lavatory.” I’d never heard that word before, but I knew the word “laboratory.” I expected beakers and test tubes and bubbling liquids. Imagine my surprise when we walked through the door! (Vicki)
***
I was playing a little too boisterously with another girl and I fell down. It was at that moment that I noticed, for the first time, a small scattering of freckles on my leg. I cried because I thought I’d been injured. But when I got home, my mom said, “You’ve always had those freckles. They’re birthmarks!” (This one's mine!)
A few years ago I held a giveaway contest for The LAST Day of Kindergarten. Folks shared their kindergarten memories on my website, and then a winner was randomly selected. (Heather won—she was the lady who was dropped off for morning kindergarten when she belonged in afternoon kindergarten, and had to spend her morning sitting in the cafeteria. So glad her story paid off for her, years later!)
Thanks to everyone who entered. Your stories are great!
***
I remember story time and sitting on the braided rug and playing with the girl’s long hair who sat in front of me. My teacher sat and read to us from her white rocking chair. Once I got in trouble for putting my scissors too close to another’s child’s face! My teacher had platinum blond hair! Tomorrow’s my 38th birthday and I still remember so many details from kindergarten! (Krissy)
***
I didn’t go to kindergarten, but this year my 5-year-old is in kindergarten and she fell off the monkey bars and had a sore back but is ok. She scared her poor teacher so bad that the next day she came home and said that the teacher told her she couldn’t get on the monkey bars anymore. My 5-year-old looked at me and said, “For the rest of my life I am never allowed to get on the monkey bars because I fell. I am so glad my teacher didn’t see me fall off my bike!” (Meme)
***
I remember the first day that my mom dropped me off at school. I remember standing in front of the doors while she took a picture and hugged me goodbye… I’m sad and excited to do the same for my kids. (Maegan)
***
I have a student who is so sweet and likes to talk a lot. One day as I was walking by and the kids were working I heard a few other students telling her that she talks a lot. So she said back to them, “I know I talk a lot…that’s why they named me Gabi…for you know Gabbing? Like talking a lot!” I thought that was so cute! (Natalie)
***
My first day teaching kindergarten I had the shocking experience of hearing a voice call out from the boys’ bathroom, “Mrs. Miyagawa, can you come wipe my butt?”
After trying not to burst out laughing, my reply was, “No, you need to do that yourself now that you are in Kindergarten!” (Ruth)
***
Several years ago I taught kindergarten in Lakeville. Occasionally, several members of the staff were required to participate in in-services together that were held during the school day. When this happened, the school secretary arranged for substitutes to come in and cover our classes. One morning after an in-service I asked the class how everything had gone the day before. Jenny, my self-appointed monitor, made sure to let me know that Ryan had laughed at the substitute’s name (Mr. Berg). Ryan defended himself emphatically, stating that he thought his name was Mr. Bird. “Well,” I countered, “Even if his name WAS Mr. Bird, you should never make fun of someone’s name. I hope this won’t happen again.”
Two weeks later, our follow up in-service was held, and subs were again randomly assigned. When I got back to my classroom after everyone had left, there was a lovely note from the substitute telling me how smoothly everything had gone and how well-behaved everyone was. It was signed Alicia Byrd. (Andrea)
***
A memory I have of kindergarten is one of my son Jose’s. In his daycare, there were four school-age kids, but only two were in kindergarten. On the last day of school, the two little kindergarteners were eating lunch at daycare and almost didn’t make it to the last day. They were both sobbing at the lunch table, realizing it was their LAST DAY of kindergarten for ever and ever!! Sobbing uncontrollably, both of them, one girl and one boy (my son). They sobbed all through lunch and while getting on the bus for the last time for kindergarten!! It was such a cute story! (Brenda)
***
I remember being so excited to finally ride the bus and go to school like my big sister. (Karen)
***
I remember my first day; it was embarrassing for me. In kindergarten, we only went half a day. Some students went the first half while others went the second half. My mom was working two jobs at the time so she had her cousin come pick me up and take me to my first day. She didn’t get out or anything, just dropped me off at the front door. I was thinking I was so late because it was already 8:30 and I hadn’t gotten to eat breakfast yet so I just knew I missed that. I walk in alone and upset.
I went in to sit down and my seat was taken so the teacher came over to ask what was wrong. I soon found out that I wasn’t supposed to be there until the second half of the day! I had no one to take me home at that point, so they sent me to the lunchroom to sit all day until it was my turn for class.
At least the lunch ladies came out and made me my own breakfast, and I got to help them a little bit. I still remember the smell, and the feeling of the cold table as I sat there waiting & waiting. (Heather)
***
I remember a boy kicking me while we sat on the floor for story time. When I turned around to tell him to stop, I got in trouble for talking. I didn’t tell the teacher what happened, but cried later at home because it was all so unfair. (Loretta)
***
What I remember most about kindergarten is naptime. Every afternoon after lunch we got out our mats and “rested.” I don’t remember how long we were supposed to rest, but it felt like forever to me! If we fell asleep we would get a gold star; if we rested quietly we got a silver star; if we did neither--bupkes [nothing]! At the end of the YEAR I had only four stars. I dreaded naptime! Ironic that now as a mother of two, a full-time student, and wife, I would love to nap every afternoon! (Carlene)
***
I, too, loved kindergarten, but the incident I remember most vividly involved keeping it clean and probably gives away just how old I am. Washington Elementary had two adjoining kindergarten classrooms. Dividing the two rooms was a cloak room and the aforementioned lavatories. One of my male classmates found out just what it is like to have one’s mouth washed out with soap when he declared one of our (mostly) dear teacher’s directions to be “bullsh*t.” I can still remember his dark brown bowl cut shaking violently as he frothed at the mouth. I’m a little surprised he didn’t earn the nick name ‘mad dog’. (Sandra)
***
I loved kindergarten! When I arrived at class I immediately took out my crayon box and looked at my teacher for direction because I was ready to make something. My older sister said that was what we would do in kindergarten, so I did not want to waste any time! (Kara)
***
The kindergarten teacher was teaching the days of the week. When she completed reciting them all, my brother, Jim, raised his hand and said, “You forgot one--payday!” (Kathy)
***
On my first day of kindergarten, I remember standing at the end of our driveway holding my mom’s hand. The sky was a brilliant blue color. An enormous yellow bus came around the corner to pick me up. The door opened and the driver welcomed me aboard. He said his name was Mr. Brown and that the bus had a name too—Sassafras! He told me he and Sassafras loved to take kids to school. As we drove away, he began to sing “Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah.” What a great start to a first day of school! (Laura)
***
I remember sitting on a circle letter that started with my last name. Also I remember “Louie” the janitor bringing us milk every day. (Erin)
***
I remember several things from kindergarten, but one that stands out was having the last name of Longenecker… and one of the boys asking me if I knew what necking meant. (Terri)
***
I remember getting a new shorts outfit in my Easter nest and I had to wait to wear it at the last day of school picnic.
I remember going to the auditorium to get the polio vaccine. (Yes I’m old.) We waited in line FOREVER! They gave us a little cup with a very sugary liquid in it. I think we had to do this a couple of times.
We also had county music day. We had to sing two songs and every school (mostly rural) had to perform. It lasted all afternoon. (Janet)
***
The first day of school, during our first milk break, I was opening my very first little carton of milk, and as I was opening the end, my teacher came by and chewed me out for opening the wrong end. She told me I was supposed to open the side that said “open this end.” Good to know, but I could not read yet!
Then there was the day that I took it very seriously when our teacher told us to be quiet. My friend was talking to me so I told her, “please be quiet.” It was at that moment I got in trouble for talking, and had to go stand in the corner! Bum rap I tell you! LOL! (Michelle)
***
I remember the first day…I had my clear ice cream pail filled with school supplies. I remember riding on the bus holding onto my pail…and I can still remember the smell of the glue sticks that I used. Every time I smell something like that smell it takes me right back to kindergarten. (Lisa)
***
I was going up to the school door when someone opened it from the other side- I was knocked out and woke up with my dad standing over me in the principal’s office. (Donna)
***
I remember my teacher, Mrs. Hino, reading The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Still one of my most favorite picture books ever! (Ruth)
***
I am really old…. there was no public kindergarten! There was a private kindergarten. I remember the seesaws and learning to sing “When the Saints Go Marching In.” (MJ)
***
I always loved to draw. When it was music time and Miss Gustafson, my kindergarten teacher, called everyone else to the piano to sing, she would allow me to stay at my table and keep drawing. Thank you for making me feel like an artist even when I was six years old, Miss Gustafson! (David)
***
When I was in kindergarten, I was the child with leg braces, glasses, and corrective shoes, but my teacher thought the world of me! I always felt beautiful and my mind was constantly challenged. I knew I would never forget her, and that I wanted to be a teacher just like Mrs. Dunn! Then, about 18 years later, I did become a teacher….a kindergarten teacher (wait for it) also named Mrs. Dunn. (Deedee)
***
I will always remember singing with the teacher playing the piano. Always one of my favorite times of the day in kindergarten! (Susan)
***
Surprisingly, I only have two strong memories from kindergarten back in 1969. One of them is of Mrs. Lind, my kind teacher (who seemed to be 105 years old, but was probably closer to 45) and the other a grumpy redheaded boy (whose name I also remember but choose not to share) who called me ugly names because of my Latin American heritage. I just didn’t understand, because his dad and mine were supposedly good friends. Fortunately, my teacher sat him down and explained that he was being mean. Thank you Mrs. Lind! (Maria)
***
I don’t have very many fond memories of my own kindergarten experience, but as a kindergarten teacher, I have many wonderful memories. One year I had a little girl who had a birthday near the end of school. All little kids are usually excited for their birthdays, but not her. She even asked if we could stop doing calendar, because she didn’t want her birthday to come. When we finally figured out why, she said she didn’t want to turn six. She knew that when she turned six, kindergarten would be almost over and she would have to go to first grade, and she didn’t want to leave the comfort of our classroom. (Tracey)
***
My earliest memory of kindergarten was taking home Curious George for the weekend and writing about all the fun things we did. Well, I didn’t write, my parents did but I remember drawing a picture. (Lori)
***
I won the blue ribbon in the school art fair for my painting, “Picnic In The Park” and when my parents told me, I remember not understanding that I was supposed to be excited. What was a blue ribbon to a six-year-old, after all? It wasn’t candy or a toy! But I saw that my mom and dad were proud, so eventually, I decided I should be proud, too. (Shannon)
***
I have no memories of kindergarten as I was adopted to the USA when I was almost eight. Instead my most memorable memory of first grade was my first day of school which was in January 1976. Now you have to understand I arrived from Korea on Dec 16, 1975… the only English word I knew was “mommy,” which I was very proud to know as I learned that in Korea…What I do remember is a boy calling me a bad name, which I could tell by his tone of voice. I punched him in the face and gave him a black eye. Mrs. Walker, my teacher, made me sit in the corner until I apologized… problem was I didn’t know how to say the words, so I sat in the corner most of the day… The boy I punched grew up to be a police officer. I try to not run into him too much now… (Andrea)
***
My strongest memory from kindergarten was the mountain lion on the playground. A little girl who was playing atop the monkey bars saw him first and told one of the monitors that there was a very big cat near the swing set. Recess was quickly and quietly cut short with none of the kids knowing why until we got back into the classroom. When the lion wranglers came to the school we all fought for space near the windows to catch a glimpse! (Christina)
***
I remember the kid who always picked his nose at circle time. (Jesse)
***
I remember being stressed about having to memorize my address. (Nicole)
***
One day our teacher told us we needed to tell her our phone number by week’s end. I told my mom this and she proceeded to help me learn it….”but Mom, why can’t you just write it down on paper and then I can give it to her?” I wasn’t thrilled to find out I actually had to memorize it. (Linda)
***
The night before my first day I had laid out my outfit, shoes, and had planned exactly how I was going to do my hair. I remember barely being able sleep I was so excited. The morning arrived and Mom was rushing me getting me ready. Mom and I walked across the street to wait for the bus and I guess my anxiety got the best of me. I ended up vomiting at the bus stop! Because of this I wasn’t even able to go to my first day of kindergarten. Kinda sad but I remember that day vividly! (Melissa)
***
I loved my kindergarten teacher, Miss Alred. The last day of kindergarten I must have gone back into the room at least three times to tell her goodbye before my mom finally got me to go home with her. (Lois)
***
Alas, I skipped kindergarten and first grade, so my first day at school was 2nd grade. I remember donning my black uniform, black leather shoes, and white collar, which felt all too tight on my neck, welcoming me to the world of formal (i.e. uncomfortable) attire. I also remember the moment I left my mother’s hand to hold my teacher’s big and callused hand. I was shocked by the poor reading level of my classmates, and they with my hieroglyphic handwriting, which has not improved at all, much to the suffering of my teachers, who tactfully guided me to a career in computers. (Kut) [from Turkey]
***
I fell off the monkey bars, and the teacher held the flat side of a table knife to keep the bump on my head from swelling. (Donna)
***
I was bussed across town to kindergarten, from my predominantly white neighborhood. The bus rides took forever, and my mom admitted recently that it would have been a short walk for her to take me–the school was only a few blocks away, but on the proverbial other side of the tracks, and she didn’t want to pack up my little sister every day for the walk. (I’m not resentful, mostly.) The only thing I really remember about kindergarten, though, is the day another girl in the class barfed all over her workbook, and I got sent home, too, because I couldn’t stop crying after seeing all that barf. Such a happy kindergarten memory. (Melanie)
***
It was one of the first few days of kindergarten, and I remember bringing in a form to my teacher for a field trip. The top of the form had my teacher’s full name on it, and I thought that since I knew her first name I could address her as “Tina” rather than “Mrs. Marler.” It did not go over well. (Kristina)
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On the first day of kindergarten, when they gave us a tour, they pointed out the “lavatory.” I’d never heard that word before, but I knew the word “laboratory.” I expected beakers and test tubes and bubbling liquids. Imagine my surprise when we walked through the door! (Vicki)
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I was playing a little too boisterously with another girl and I fell down. It was at that moment that I noticed, for the first time, a small scattering of freckles on my leg. I cried because I thought I’d been injured. But when I got home, my mom said, “You’ve always had those freckles. They’re birthmarks!” (This one's mine!)