What Are Your Memories from Kindergarten?
by Janis Gaines
I have a few funny/interesting memories from this time in my life.
1) I attended kindergarten at my church, where my dad worked at the time, and I loved getting to ride to work with him every day. My older brother was already in public school, so this was my special time alone with my dad. He drove a yellow Plymouth Duster at the time. The car had two doors, which were heavy for me to open and close, and I remember always slamming the car door and being told not to. Our CB handle for communicating with truckers on the road was Tweety Bird, and I loved that! At the end of a school day, I would wait in my dad’s office, and he always had Smarties candy in a white styrofaom cup on his desk. I don’t know if they were his favorite candy, but they were mine during those years.
2) I usually finished my seat work early and sometimes, I would get bored in class, so I found myself a new project. I memorized the alphabet backwards. There was a banner border close to the ceiling with the alphabet on it, and I would stare up at it while sitting at the small table and chairs. I was so proud of myself and would recite the alphabet backwards for whoever would listen.
3) My last clear kindergarten memory is when a friend and I got in trouble for revealing to the whole class that there is no Santa Clause. We were sent out into the hallway for a gentle scolding. This may be my first memory of feeling in trouble for something that was the truth.
Interestingly, wanting to be like my dad, approaching life from a different perspective, and seeking truth and yet getting in trouble for it have been on-going themes in my life.
What are your memories from kindergarten?
(And wasn’t it kindergarden before kindergarten?!)
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This post is part of a personal writing series for 2020, Owning My Story
IMAGES: Unknown
***I am 4th from the left on the bottom row. All the other girls look so cute compared to my tom-boyish sweats. I must be wearing my brother’s hand-me-downs, lol.
© January 8, 2020
Tryon, NC
Riches and Rhymes 
The alphabet backwards is amazing. (My own memos from K mostly consist of nonsensical flashes which leave me uncertain if they were from K or Prescchool…)
Yes, some memory timelines can be fuzzy! Trying to record as many as I can before I forget. Great to hear from you, as always. 🙂
when I was in Kindergarten my sister and I went to a Chinese school. We are homeschooled now but my mom put us in the Chinese Kindergarten back then so we could learn the language. I remember once we were memorizing a poem and Amelie(My sister) did not know how to recite it. So I remember taking her out into the hallway and helping her memorize it. Also there was a boy there and one day I took his pencil box and hid it but did not tell anyone where it was. Then when the teacher found it she asked who hid it and I lied😬. And I also remember a Chinese super hero show with a blue, pink, and yellow girls. All I remember is their colors though. I don’t remember anything else about the show. And lastly I also remember that there were chickens out in a box near the playground that the kids could play with when class was out. Sadly the chicks did not live for very long. I think that grubby little kindergartener hands picking you up and squeezing you must be very stressful.
lol, I wonder why you stole the pencil box. Yay for helping your sister, and yes, agreed about the baby chicks. Was the show The Powerpuff Girls?
I probably stole his pencil box because I love to make problems and maybe I was upset at him about something random. So I looked up The Powerpuff Girls and no I don’t think that was it. I remember that in the show there were like these girl with bracelets that could change them into animals or something.
When I was young enough for kindergarden back when it was spelled that way, I didn’t qualify. I have a summer birthday and my parents were told I was born too late to qualify for kindergarden. Years later, they changed it to where you can start it no matter what month you were born. When my daughter was around 3, she was put in Pre-K, followed by Pre-K for 4 years and K once she turned 5. I feel cheated, but don’t see the school district letting me make it now.
lol, I guess you missed out on a lot of games of Twister and Duck, Duck Goose. And yay, I’m glad someone remembers the way it was always spelled! I don’t know why or when the spelling changed — that and also “congradulations” which is now “congratulations.” Bugged me for a while, but now the original way looks weird, lol.
I didn’t miss the games as I tended to be the last one chosen when kids were choosing teammates once I got to First Grade and beyond. By Third Grade, I became the outcast because I wore the black or brown frame glasses with the Coke-bottle lens. It didn’t help that I was clumsy and often bullied because I couldn’t afford the Atlas 95 pound weakling course.
Can you still recite the alphabet backwards?
I haven’t tried in a while! I think I could probably start, but might get lost in the middle. lol…I used to sit and stare at it everyday and always would go backwards. It’s interesting to me that many cultures will read right to left vs left to write and is either way more part of our natural inclination from birth? Idk, but it would also be interesting to study.
Thats farther than i can get! haha! Yeah, thats an interesting point…