Worst, most adorable kindergarten song ever

Kindergarten

Andy starts school next week. REAL school. I am psyched, and not just because I won't have to pay $200 a week in daycare. I am psyched for him to be going to a real school and starting to read and all the fun stuff that comes from elementary school. The whole thing seems a little surreal. I went by to register him and I swear it even smelled like an elementary school. Good thing I have good memories of elementary school. Middle school, well, not so much, but I really did love elementary school. When I wasn't crying and wailing about being forced to go, that is.

The downside of this will be now school is mandatory. Before, we could just blow off a week for vacation or skip a day because I was off and wanted to play. Now it will be harder, plus I'll need to set the example that school isn't optional, it's really important. It's also going to be different because unlike daycare where you can quit if you don't like it, public school isn't really like that. Plus, he'll have to be at school at an exact time every day. Punctuality isn't especially my strong suit.

Any tips on helping make the transition easier for all of us?

Fairfax County considering going back to half-day kindergarten

There is some controversy going on here in the Fairfax County. Due to budget a shortfall, they are considering going back to half-day kindergarten again as a way to save $13 million dollars. I am not so good with numbers, but for a school system with an annual budget of $2.2 billion (yes, that's billion with a B), $13 million doesn't seem like a lot. A lot of folks, myself included particularly with a kid expected to enter full day kindergarten in nine months, are encouraging the county to consider other options.

There is an interesting debate. My friends who stay home and whose kids go to preschool a couple of mornings a week, complain that full day kindergarten is too long and it's too hard on the kids. My friends who work think half-day kindergarten is a joke because by the time they get to school, get settled, do an activity and have a snack, it's time to go home -- in many ways a far less academic setting then our kids have been receiving at full-day daycare/preschool. Also, it's a pain in the neck for working parents because you don't find out until August before school starts in the first of September if you will have morning or afternoon kindergarten and you have to make arrangements.

If you support keeping full-day kindergarten, please sign the petition - http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/Save-Full-Day-Kindergarten.