Dear Marshall,
Here is a story from your year of kindergarten.
Marshall’s kindergarten teacher decided that her class should put on an end-of-year show. Marshall was so excited about the upcoming show that the night before told his Dad exactly how he was going to get ready in the morning. He said, “I’m going to get up, get dressed, go downstairs, eat my breakfast, brush my teeth, etc.”
He meant it, too! He was already up and dressed when I got up, which is amazing, because usually he has to be pushed through every part of the morning routine. He ate only one bowl of cereal and then disappeared. I found out later that he had gone upstairs to brush his teeth. He was ready at least 10 minutes early. Before he got on the bus, he reminded us repeatedly to go to his school for the show (as if we could possibly forget!).
The show took place in the cafeteria, which was nicely decorated with the kids’ artwork. Marshall’s class had prepared several songs and plays. For example, they acted out “Where the Wild Things Are,” which was great.
They also performed an “add-on” story that they had written themselves. It started with one line, then that line was repeated and a second one added, then those two lines were repeated and a third one added, etc. Here’s the progression.
This is the chocolate syrup,
That was poured on by the father,
That married the mother,
That shoveled the dirt,
That grew into grass,
That fed the cow,
That made the milk,
That went into the sundae that Slimey ate.This is Slimey. He ate the sundae!
Each child had been given one line, and they each wore a sign on which they had drawn an illustration of their part of the story. Marshall had been given the last line, and his picture was of Slimey. Slimey was a green snake.
In preparing Marshall for his role, I had stressed to him that he should pay attention for the whole story. I told him to listen for the word “sundae,” because it would let him know that his line was coming up. I was worried that he’d get distracted and forget to say his line.
And that is, of course, exactly what happened. When it came time for him to say his line, his mind was elsewhere, and his teacher had to cue him. But the slight pause had created a sense of anticipation, so the line seemed especially cute when he said it. Everyone laughed (in a nice way) and it was clear that they had enjoyed the show immensely.
This show was a great way to end what had been, in some ways, a difficult year for Marshall. He had gotten used to preschool’s short days and lots of play. Kindergarten’s longer day and focus on academics had been unpleasant surprises for him. He got through the year splendidly, though, and he had some wonderful experiences along the way, as did we!
Love,
Mom