Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Kindergarten orientation

Today was orientation day for Maggie and Cassie. Lino was able to switch his schedule for work so he had the morning off and attended also.

The teacher seems very nice. Maggie and Cassie each made a drawing for her, and she listened when they gave them to her, which is good. The classroom seems very fun, lots of bright colors and things to do. As it turns out, a friend of a friend is going to be in their class, so they already know someone!

As part of the welcome packet there was a brief mention of snacks needing to be peanut free, and the nurse touched on reading labels to know what is safe. I need to remind them that Cassie has a tree nut allergy, too, so some snacks (like the suggested granola) may not be safe.... I spoke with the nurse briefly afterwards, and she seemed to brush off my concern, but she also may have been in a hurry. I will have to see when I drop off Cassie's epipen and benedryl.

After the classroom part, the kids were lined up to walk to the bus, where they got a quick ride. Nate seemed very sad that they were going. He knows that they are going to school, but I don't think he understands exactly what that is. Lino mentioned that he thinks (and I agree) that Nate is going to have a hard time adjusting to his bestest buddies leaving every day!

While we were waiting for the bus to come back, we were chatting with the principal. She recognized the girls' names and remembered Cassie's allergy. As it turns out, the principal carries an epipen for a bee sting allergy. So she understands!! My migraine that I had last night/this morning may have been caused by my anxiety over the start of school and worry that Cassie's allergy won't be taken seriously. I felt better after my chat with the principal, though. She said that all the parents comply and are careful. It doesn't mean the worry is gone, but it helps.

There was paperwork to be filled out for volunteering, and as I checked off all of the things that I would be interested in helping with, Lino said to add his name to the paper, too; he wants to volunteer.. There were quite a few dads at orientation, which I thought was nice.

So next is a play date for the kindergarten kids, tomorrow night. Then, the following Wednesday is the big day!!! The principal said that we could put the kids on the bus and drive to school to see them off (so we will most definitely be part of the parade behind the bus!)

4 comments:

Dawn said...

We went to a teacher meet and greet for Josh today, too. He will have a peanut allergic child in his class, so the teacher is thinking of having parents give money and she'll buy all the snacks. Should be interesting... Any ideas of good healthy snacks I can suggest? Fruit and veggies are always good, I know!

Lanny said...

I love the idea of the parade behind the bus! :)

Please consider asking the teacher to put a bold red note in her sub folder about Cassie's allergy.

Lanny said...

Wow, that sounded rude! I didn't meant it that way at all! Sorry!

Leia H said...

Will the girls be in the same class? The twins in Dee's pre-school requested to be in separate classes and that always surprises me for a big step like kindy! I suppose it's better for some though!

Good luck with the allergy stuff. I think I'd camp out in-room the first week...