I had the pleasure of being able to ask our fellow Mama, Megan, some questions about her son, Eli, transitioning to kindergarten. We have known Megan and Eli for a few years so it’s been so exciting to see him grow into the young boy he has become. Continue below to hear about their experience and check out the awesome photo gallery below. ⤵️

Did you do anything special to get him ready for school?

We have been talking about going to Kindergarten for a long time to get him excited. We ask him what he is looking forward to the most (the 4 playgrounds, taking the bus and learning new things). My parents bought him the book “Miss Bindergarten Gets Ready for Kindergarten” which we read often to him. We also received the book “Look Out Kindergarten, Here I Come” from the Dolly Imagination Library and have been reading that to him.

One day during the summer, we went to Target and he got to pick out his own school supplies. And my mom, a former Kindergarten teacher for 30 years, worked with him on writing, reading and other important skills he will be learning during the year.

How was meeting the teacher?

When the school did a meet the teacher, we didn’t know who his teacher was at the time. But we met her a few times at socials that the school planned for incoming Kindergarten students. We met her quickly at drop off on the first day and she seems really sweet. I am really glad that Eli has her as a teacher!

How was the first week?

He didn’t have a full first week until about 2 weeks into school due to Labor Day, going out of town and we kept him home one day because he had a terrible cough (not COVID). But now, he loves it! Eli is a trooper and loves everything he does – he always has a positive attitude and finds joy in everything. But he doesn’t share much with us. When we ask questions about his day, he says “I don’t know”. But the pictures/videos that the teachers sends tells us that he is adjusting well.

Did you drive him or did he take the bus?

He takes the bus to school and loves it. He likes to see where the bus is on the “Here comes the bus” app and enjoys riding it to school. He stays at school for their afterschool program so we pick him up instead of taking the bus home. 🚌

How was he after school?

A little silly and full of energy. But his usual self.

Did he have trouble going to bed or waking up early?

No, we had to adjust bedtime a bit from the summer because we knew that he was waking up earlier than usual. It has been hard to make sure he is in bed by 8pm, but we can tell that he is more tired than he was at the same time over the summer. And he usually wakes up fine at 6:30am. I don’t know if he hears my alarm go off or his body is getting used to waking up that early, but he has not given us a hard time with waking up.

🫶🏻Mamas, we hope you’ll be able to use this as a resource as your own children start kindergartens or a new school. We know how scary it can be for the children and parents. We love having our own members contribute to our village and *hopefully* connect with more mamas.