Kindergarten Days

Kindergarten graduation is wonderful.  It's fun to see these little 6-year olds dressed in cap and gown, ready to show all they have learned.  My daughter, age 6, just had her graduation, and I was snapping pictures as fast as my camera could keep up.

Love the tennis shoes with the graduation gown.  That's my girl.  In addition to all the picture-worthy moments, you can't escape hearing quotes from Robert Fulghum's "All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten".  It's a great book, quoted and framed and hung in many schools, businesses, and homes because it resonates of what matters most.  Here is a little excerpt:

        "Share everything.  Play fair.  Don't hit people.  Put hings back where you found them.  Say                 you're SORRY when you HURT somebody.  Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.  Live           a balanced life--learn some and drink some and draw some and paint some and sing and dance           and play and work everyday some."

Good stuff, right?  I would highly recommend reading the book in it's entirety.  In addition to these little tidbits of life counsel, I'd like to add a few things that all students know in Kindergarten, but many people forget through the years.  I'd like to suggest that these little 6-year-olds have a handle on people skills and life knowledge that high school students and college students would do well to remember.  In no specific order, may I share some top tips you can learn (re-learn) from Kindergarten Days.

1.  Kindergarten students are genuinely excited to go to school everyday.  They don't want to be late, because that means they will miss sitting in the circle and singing songs.  Sure, 11th grade English doesn't usually involve this circle time, but it is the attitude of the 6 year olds that you can learn from.

2.  Kindergarteners love their teachers.  They don't see it as teacher vs. students, they see it as the kindergarten team, where every student matters and the teacher is more of a coach than the oft-viewed high school teacher-tyrant.  I don't care who your high school or college teacher is:  if you approach them with an attitude of "Wow, I'm excited I get to be in your class today because I know you've got something awesome to teach me", that teacher will bend over backwards to help and teach you.

3.  Kindergarteners love learning new things:  how to read, how to add, how to write--how to do anything!  They don't see learning as hard, they see it as exciting!  So, next time that your Geometry teacher tries to show you how to solve proofs, don't hedge up your brain and say, "This is stupid--I don't want to"...take a cue from these pint-size students that essentially say:  "I don't know how to do this yet, can you do it with me?"  Even an exhausted professor would recognize this genuine desire to learn, and would work with the student.

4.  Kindergarten students have homework every night:  read 15 minutes.  Sounds simple, but the reality is that a little bit everyday is the ticket to success.  How does that apply to you:  studying a little bit everyday is better than waiting and studying for 2 hours once a week.  It wouldn't work with learning to read--and it doesn't work with your English, Math, History, or Science classes either.

5.  Running around the playground is not "lost" time, or simply "child's play".  These kids are actually learning better because they intersperse their day with lots of play.  How does this translate to high school and college?  Use this pattern for study sessions:  study for 45 minutes, then play for 15 minutes.  The key word is PLAY.  Remember play?  It's not looking at your phone for 15 minutes or watching tv.  It's "Play", which involves some sort of running around.  So, after you study for 45 minutes, get up, go kick around a soccer ball for 15 minutes, and at the end of 15 minutes, you'll be ready to hit the books again.  Essentially:  Work Hard.  Play Hard.  Don't confuse the two.

6.  Sleep.  These little kinders usually have a lot of shut-eye, around 12 hours a night.  And though most 16 year olds don't need that much--they do need a good amount (8-10 hours per night).  That means that instead of staying up to play video games, you hit the sack around 9:30 or 10:00, and sleep until 6:30 or 7:00.  Sure, you won't be able to watch The Late Show, but you'll be trading late-night laughs for staying awake and alert in class...even that horrid 6th period post-lunch slump.

7.  6-year-olds are notorious for asking loads of questions about anything they don't understand.  They want to know how things work, why certain things happen, where things came from.  They want to learn to understand a little better, not just to finish an assignment or pass a test.  They are genuinely interested in learning and so they never, never, think that asking a question will make them look clueless.  So--the translation to teenagers and young adults is this:  recognize that maybe, just maybe, you could learn from someone else.  Maybe, just maybe, someone else has been in the same place you've been in and could offer some advice.  Don't be scared about asking questions when you're in class, or approaching a teacher for extra help.  Be curious about how things work, why they work, and how it fits together.