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 You
cannot imagine how much I have missed you over the holidays. In
September, when I was asked to "jot down" a few words about
teaching kindergarten, I never imagined the wonderful friends I would
make. Now shopping at the deli counter at Gardners is as exciting as
Christmas morning. Complete strangers come up to me, and jump into a
dialogue as though we were sharing a delicious cup of tea at the
Plaza.
I would say the number one question asked is: what can
I do to be a perfect parent like you must be? Usually one of the three
children who have passed through my body is standing with me aiding in
life's eternal question of "what home-made dinner (just not made
in our home) we should enjoy that night." I must admit that even
the whispered promise of unlimited pounds of stone crabs and hot
macadamia nut cookies will not stop those ingrates from slapping their
knees and making gasping/laughing sounds. At which point, I say with
all the poise I can muster , "if raising children were supposed
to be easy, it would not have started with labor." Not to mention
the fact that if I were even minutes later in starting my family,
their births would have been covered by Medicare. You see, the grass
is always greener on the other side.
I assure you, dear parents, that I am not perfect.
What I have on my side (that you might not yet have acquired) are 24
years of teaching experience and hundreds of 5 and 6 year olds who
have opened my eyes to the important things in life. In other words,
"you have gravity on your side, but I have aged
perspective."
One of the most frequently asked questions about five
and six year olds at the time of emerging reading is this: "What
do I do about homework? Is this necessary . . . or is it THE CURSE of
the underpaid teacher taking our her frustrations on America's
innocent homemakers?" Inexperienced mothers often feel that
teachers need to lay off the homework and cover all the subject matter
during the school day. Older mothers, working mothers, let's face it,
are tired. They no longer feel the thrill of the short vowel poem
about the Cat in the Hat. No tears of awe and wonder fill their eyes
when they get the page of stick figures with the words "My
Family". And if their family is large they ran out of
refrigerator space long ago. At our home we called that scared spot
the GE Hall of Fame. Now, years later, I yearn
to see my children's self portraits (that I must admit, did more than
slightly resemble Bella Lugossi) on that scared spot. One of my three had
their Plaster of Paris hand print bite the dust and I wept for a week. (We
had to double the estrogen pills that sad day).
To answer your question seriously: homework in Kindergarten is that
wonderful bridge between home and school. . . Mom and Dad, Grandparents and
teachers. Your attitude about every word they read, letter they write or
number they add should be amazement-to-the-max. Maybe a phone call or two to
relatives far away when the first story comes home. That would be money well
spent. I'd bet my entire pay check --which by the way is so tiny my C.P.A.
husband says it brings a whole new meaning to the term "gross"
salary-- anyway, I'd bet it all that not one child who read for 15 happy
minutes with his mommy and daddy every evening spent a day in juvenile
detention... or held a gun in Columbine.
And, I particularly salute all the parents who write notes when the work is
returned to me like "Wow", "Hot-Diggity-Dog" or "Cowabunga".
You and your legacy for tomorrow are the true joy of my existence. Teaching
does have its perks... Have I told you yet that thanks to my little
darlings, I can claim in all honesty to having had my thighs hugged by more
people than Marilyn Monroe and Madonna combined?
Many of you also talk with me about my Sioux Indian friend and mentor and
his "Stars in the Nighttime Sky" -- for you I add this, from the
same wonderful source:
When I die, he said, I'm coming back as a tree
with deep roots and I'll wave my leaves at the
children every morning on their way to school and
whisper tree songs at night in their dreams.
Trees with deep roots know about the things that
children need.
Passed to Sue Hadley Nichols by Professor Silver, Sioux Indian and Native
American. And now passed to parents by Sue Hadley Nichols, mother and
kindergarten teacher in eternal gratitude.
Sue Nichols, born and raised in Miami Dade County, is a teacher at St.
Thomas Episcopal Parish School, and has 24 years experience with
kindergarten classrooms.
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