All I Really Need To Know I Learned In Kindergarten

JR graduated kindergarten today (I will post pictures and videos later). They read "All I Really Need To Know I Learned In Kindergarten" by Robert Fulghum at the ceremony. I don't know why, but it always makes me tear up, especially today. It is so simple, yet so true. What a big milestone for JR today.

All I Really Need To KnowI Learned In Kindergarten
by Robert Fulghum

- an excerpt from the book, All I Really Need To Know I Learned in Kindergarten

All I really need to know I learned in kindergarten.
ALL I REALLY NEED TO KNOW about how to live and what to do and how to be I learned in kindergarten. Wisdom was not at the top of the graduate-school mountain, but there in the sandpile at Sunday School. These are the things I learned:
Share everything.
Play fair.
Don't hit people.
Put things back where you found them.
Clean up your own mess.
Don't take things that aren't yours.
Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody.
Wash your hands before you eat.
Flush.
Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.
Live a balanced life - learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some.
Take a nap every afternoon.
When you go out into the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands, and stick together.
Be aware of wonder.
Remember the little seed in the styrofoam cup: The roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why, but we are all like that.
Goldfish and hamsters and white mice and even the little seed in the Styrofoam cup - they all die. So do we.
And then remember the Dick-and-Jane books and the first word you learned - the biggestword of all - LOOK.
Everything you need to know is in there somewhere. The Golden Rule and love and basic sanitation.Ecology and politics and equality and sane living.
Take any of those items and extrapolate it into sophisticated adult terms and apply it to your family life or your work or your government oryour world and it holds true and clear and firm. Think what a better world it would be if all - the whole world - had cookies and milk about three o'clock every afternoon and then lay down withour blankies for a nap. Or if all governments had a basic policy to always put thing back where they found them and to clean up their own mess. And it is still true, no matter how old youare - when you go out into the world, it is best to hold hands and stick together.

Four In A Bed

As I've stated before, I'm a big fan of co-sleeping. I won't go into the benefits again, but they are numerous. That's not so say there aren't any downsides. Au contraire, mes amis. JR has repeatedly pointed out that he has to sleep alone while Tristan gets to sleep with us. Since it's only fair, he has decided to wake up every morning at 5am (he insists it's closer to 6am, but I dutifully note the clock every time) and come crawl into bed with us. Theresa and Tristan take up their fair portion of 80% of the bed, so JR elbows me in the face and "snuggles in". At least he calls it snuggling in; I get to play the role of circus contortionist and try to somehow snake myself between three bodies all spread eagle. I'd liken it to a game of human Tetris, but that would imply a solution is always somehow achievable. I don't recall any of the pieces ever being kicked to the floor when I played Tetris on my old Gameboy. But I digress...

Not to long ago we saw and add on Craigslist for a toddler bed. Perfect! Tristan will have it when he's ready to move out of our bed, and JR can use it when he comes in at 5am (No, JR, seriously. It's five in the morning. Old people aren't even up yet.) We placed our bid, picked it up, and put it in the bedroom next to our bed. The next day when JR came into our room (claiming it was 6am)...


As you can see, I'm now much more comfortable than when I was forced to sleep on the floor. I just wish the toddler bed were a bit longer so my feet didn't hang off. This picture, by the way, was taken at 5:07am.

Open House and Open Doors

JR had his kindergarten open house on Friday. I was very excited to get to see a glimps inside his kindergarten life and he was excited to show me. We saw the lima beans they sprouted, painted butterflies, flowers, quilt books, spring books, and more. It is amazing that JR is almost done with kindergarten. I can't believe I'm going to have a first grader soon.

JR showing off the pattern blocks at school

JR showing the counting chart that shows how many days they've been in school - 168.

And on an update for Tristan, he has learned how to open doors. We don't have the round door knobs, but the door handles that you just have to pull down. Tristan must have had a growth spurt over night because this morning he woke up and he could reach the door handles and also get up on the couch by himself. He's keeping us on our toes.