Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Rise and Shine

GOOD MORNING, DELAWARE COUNTY!

By the by, I forgot about the Viagra ads that come flooding into e-mails. Not that, you know, somebody was snooping for that.

Anyway, there was a popular book some years back called 'All I really need to know I learned in kindergarten.'
While the book is more of a life philosophy, the title is what got me thinking.
Is it true? Do we learn during our first year of 'formal' school than the rest of the years?
Probably for our basic needs. Still, anybody who sat complaining in algebra class know that now you need that math every day.
What got me thinking about this is my son, Brendan, is completing his last day of kindergarten today.
He's starting to read. He's starting to add. He's starting to see the world in a different way.
I guess you do grow up a bit after kindergarten. While he's been going to school for a few years now, this is really the first year of learning. Preschool teachers set the basics for things. They learn the days of the week, colors, etc. When they get to the next level, though, it's time to get everything down.
Reading, Writing and 'Rithmetic.
To tell the truth, the learning is stunning. Here's a boy who last year had a tough time writing his name, but now his penmanship is better than mine. He honestly sits down with books now and reads the words. He doesn't just look at the pictures.
He's learning to count. He knows the difference between pennies and dimes.
I give all the credit to his teachers. Think about it for a minute. Here you are faced with a classroom of 5- and 6-year olds. While they are in school, they aren't necessarily 'in' school.
Their attention span is, well, limited. Somehow, though, they learn. Somehow they get it done.
Maybe the book is right.
So for all you kindargten graduates out there, I give you this:


If you have any cool links or photos, send them along to onlinedelco@gmail.com

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