Fuzzy images of cubbies and long tables with cute little chairs is what I think of when I think of Kindergarten. That and the fact that my mom brought in Chocolate Covered Cherries to celebrate George Washington's Birthday (remember the cherry tree?). I remember thinking how smart my mom was to think of that for our celebration. Of course, I have no recollection of how many 5 year olds ate the Chocolate Covered Cherries (I don't think most people like them much...lollipops might have been a cheaper and more impressive choice, given the audience).
You would think I would have retained a bit more of my Kindergarten experience; we lived in 
Rochester, N.Y. at the time. We only lived there for about 2 years. My youngest brother was born there (no recollection). We lived in an orange house (vague recollection--I have seen pictures...it was supposed to be a deep goldish color, but the builder messed up). The whole time we lived there, I remember 5 things:
- The Chocolate Covered Cherries
- Creating a system of tunnels in the snow in my front yard (it was Rochester, after all)
- Falling on my bike as I rode really fast down the hill toward my house (I must have been six...and it was a big hill)
- Getting in trouble for playing in the construction site across the street (after being told not to play in the construction site across the street)
- Checking a book out of the school library that explained how babies are made and sharing it with my friends (my parents got called in to school for that one).
With these limited recollections, however, I did learn some important things that I carry on into my life today.
- It is good to be clever, but don't forget your audience
- Upstate New York gets a lot of snow (this is why I decided against attending my father's alma mater, Syracuse)
- It is good to have a fundamental understanding of brakes and make sure they are always in working order
- If you have been advised not to do something, be sure you understand the possible consequences if you choose to do it anyway
- If you find the right material, everyone will listen to what you have to say
I think that each phase in our education prepares us in some way for the next phase in life. Without these valuable lessons, I might be smashing into things regularly in Syracuse or Rochester and hanging out in construction sites (oh wait! I DO do that!!). As it stands, I believe that the lessons that I learned have kept me safe and provided me with an air of caution that has been valuable. These lessons taught me to think things through before I act. I really learned a lot from lesson number 5 and use it today as I blog; some of my most well-read posts provide a little tantalizing twist in the title that get people to open them and (hopefully) read the content.
It is often said that Kindergarten teaches us everything we need to know...not sure if I would go that far, but I definitely learned some handy things during my year in Kindergarten!
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