sorry no time to read others posts, but here's my take:

prepare for extreme exhaustion
prepare for wacky, out-of-the-blue questions
prepare for extreme dehydration at pick up (i kept water bottles in the car)
prepare for extreme happiness and a huge developmental jump within the first two months....it's extraordinary, a complete joy to watch unfold...they are now firmly in their own little world, finding their role and their way and their like's and their dislike's...

in terms of your own nerves, I strongly recommend you fake it, tell her how excited you are for her and how ready she is, hold something back that's only for "grown up girls" and give it to her two weeks in, telling her proud you are of her and how grown up she's been...so fake your own nerves and walk her in their confidently, no drama...she's ready..she'll take your lead

congrats...it's such a joy to watch your child unfold and start to see even more layers of who they are as individuals...

Anonymous wrote:I think it totally depends on the kid and likely the school environment (and how they match up). My DD was at home with a nanny up until starting school so I was pretty nervous about the transition, especially because it was an immersion school. But she adjusted beautifully. Yes, she was more tired at the end of the day but that was actually a good thing- meant I could get her to go to sleep at a decent hour. But my kid is really high energy and thrives off of being in a busy, stimulating environment. If your kid is more introverted then it might be a harder transition. I agree on holding off committing to any other outside activities until you see how she copes. And be prepared to adjust bedtimes or build in more relaxing evening/weekend activities as needed. But children are pretty resilient little buggers so even the parents I know who struggled with an adjustment period said everything eventually fell into place.

Another thing I'll add is that I've noticed that in K a lot of the little girls are already developing that "mean girl" attitude. So watch out for that happening and be prepared to help support/talk your child through it and how to handle it.

OP here: My child is very extroverted. Her bedtime is now 10:30, so I defintely am hoping she'll go to sleep earlier. She'll be in Bar-T (MoCo aftercare) M/W/F so they will help get some of the homework done, although I have heard not to depend on that. They dropped her daytime naps at Daycare in preparation for Kindergarten. The other Parents love her Elementary School.....hopefully we will be okay too!

If you remember how you felt the last time you started a totally new job it gives you some sympathy for these little ones. It's stressful to be in a totally new environment, even if the teachers are wonderful. There are just SO many things to learn. We found that a routine after school was completely essential - as much as my DS wanted a break, we really needed to be as stress free as possible after school, which meant not arguing at all.

so this is what we did, every day:
1- stop at the playground to run around
2- wash hands the second we got home (yes, official part of the schedule, but so much easier to just have the routine and not do any reminding/nagging/asking/etc)
3- snack
4- homework (except the reading together bit, which we did after dinner)
THEN play/free time

Best advice I got before the K year was a friend who said: pack a lunch in a lunch box (or if your kid will buy lunch, practice carrying it on a tray), and set a timer for 20 mins. Practicing over the summer is fun, but figuring out what your child will eat, what containers he can open himself, etc, really helps- bc yes, hunger is part of the problem on those long days. You can't really simulate the excitement of "eating" for 20 mins with 100 other friends, but at least can try with the timing and self-sufficiency.

I think it totally depends on the kid and likely the school environment (and how they match up). My DD was at home with a nanny up until starting school so I was pretty nervous about the transition, especially because it was an immersion school. But she adjusted beautifully. Yes, she was more tired at the end of the day but that was actually a good thing- meant I could get her to go to sleep at a decent hour. But my kid is really high energy and thrives off of being in a busy, stimulating environment. If your kid is more introverted then it might be a harder transition. I agree on holding off committing to any other outside activities until you see how she copes. And be prepared to adjust bedtimes or build in more relaxing evening/weekend activities as needed. But children are pretty resilient little buggers so even the parents I know who struggled with an adjustment period said everything eventually fell into place.

Another thing I'll add is that I've noticed that in K a lot of the little girls are already developing that "mean girl" attitude. So watch out for that happening and be prepared to help support/talk your child through it and how to handle it.

The other thing that was an expected challenge for us was the fact that they didn't eat lunch until 1 pm, with no snack/break in the am. For my son who often went to before-care as well, this was just WAY too long between meals. He complained of getting headaches before recess (which came immediately before lunch) that I felt sure were due to being hungry.
I've heard some schools have a snack break in K, but not at our Mont. County school.
And then, of course, when 1 pm came, they had twice as many kids as the caf. could reasonably accommodate trying to get lunch in the 30 minutes allotted, leaving many getting lunch at 1:29 and being yelled at to EAT! HURRY! OK, need to go, lunch is over! After I witnessed it the first week, my child took his lunch every day.
Can you tell I wasn't thrilled with the whole K experience? Neither was my son.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The other big challenge for us was all the homework. I was (still am) shocked and dismayed at how much homework they received on a daily basis. My son found this VERY hard -- after that long day at school to come home and be expected to do even more school work, when he was exhausted and ready for free time. It didn't go well for us (though my son did just fine at learning and in his reports from the teacher.)

Which district is this that assigns homework in kindergarten? All of them?

Montgomery County for us. Weekly packet plus a reading bag sent home several nights a week that included reading, worksheets, sight words, journal writing. Then of course the nightly reading outside of the reading bag.
The whole 20-minutes thing was sold to us too, and complete fiction. I seriously doubt anyone actually spent a moment thinking about how long the assignments would take, and if they did, they clearly had no experience with 5-year olds.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Prepare for extreme exhaustion- like you have never seen before. I would hold off on the other activities until her wee body and mind adjust to the new stresses.

Why is kindergarten so exhausting? And what can we as parents do - I mean, do others find this outrageous that this is the case? Is it the curriculum? WTH?

I'm with you. But so many people in DC want this. Oh, please, teachers, give our 5 year olds RIGOR. Make sure they're so exhausted that by the time they get home, they'll be too tired to talk to mom and dad. I don't mind, it's for his own good. After all, if he's not doing long division and writing in paragraphs before entering first grade, he'll NEVER get into that ivy, NEVER be able to get into that top tier law school, NEVER be able to spend his time posting on DCUM about how hard it is working for biglaw....

No thanks. Demand better for your kids, parents. I'ts NOT okay for a kindergartener to be so exhausted. I WILL homeschool if I can't find a better option.

Wow. Glad you are able to blow off some steam! LOL!!

With my 3 kids, the "rigor" was not the exhausting factor. It was a combination of a significant change in routine, a longer daily commute and no more naps.

Anonymous wrote:I heard there is homework in Arlington county for kindergarten....

20 minutes was what I heard

Not sure if that was per night or per week

Another worried mom of a rising kindergartener..

In our Fairfax county K program last year, we got homework sent home once a week on Mondays, and it was due back on Fridays. I will be honest that we did not always turn it back in, and it didn't count against us in K. We are going to do much better in 1st, but in K, as others have said, it was very hard to get my dd to focus on homework after the long day in school. We had better luck having her do homework in the mornings.

No nap, paying attention all day, learning lots of new things and a MUCH bigger group of kids than most daycare classes, short recesses, not enough PE...
I am worried about my DD too. She's been at the same school for PK but they had naptime. I work a late shifted schedule so I am afraid she will be conking out early and I will have next to no time with her in the evenings. DH does his best but he can't be me

I heard there is homework in Arlington county for kindergarten....

20 minutes was what I heard

Not sure if that was per night or per week

Another worried mom of a rising kindergartener..

Anonymous wrote:It took my son several months to adjust. He'd been in daycare since infancy, but he was used to much more play time/unstructured time at daycare than in K. He didn't like all the time he had to "sit on my hands and not move and just listen".
The other big challenge for us was all the homework. I was (still am) shocked and dismayed at how much homework they received on a daily basis. My son found this VERY hard -- after that long day at school to come home and be expected to do even more school work, when he was exhausted and ready for free time. It didn't go well for us (though my son did just fine at learning and in his reports from the teacher.)

Which district is this that assigns homework in kindergarten? All of them?

It took my son several months to adjust. He'd been in daycare since infancy, but he was used to much more play time/unstructured time at daycare than in K. He didn't like all the time he had to "sit on my hands and not move and just listen".
The other big challenge for us was all the homework. I was (still am) shocked and dismayed at how much homework they received on a daily basis. My son found this VERY hard -- after that long day at school to come home and be expected to do even more school work, when he was exhausted and ready for free time. It didn't go well for us (though my son did just fine at learning and in his reports from the teacher.)

My kids had all gone to full-day daycare, and the first few weeks of kindergarten were fine: It was new and exciting. I think the adjustment to a new environment made them more tired than usual, but not because it was hard or traumatic, just different.

For each of them, though, a few weeks in, we hit a period of massive obnoxiousness. I suspect it was because the thrill of the new place was gone, they were still tired, and they just wanted to be done with the new and go back to what they'd always known. If you asked them, they'd have said no, they were too big for preschool, and they were. But it took a while for kindergarten to feel like the same-old, same-old, and it was rough.

Anonymous wrote:OP here: Thanks everyone for the posts. I'm hoping to get more since it's on my mind and making me nervous! My daughter is friendly and makes friends easily but she is nervous and I feel nervous for her. I'm sure I'm projecting because I was a shy child and I'm trying to recognize the change in her life without making her nervous. She just stopped daycare naps and is tired. She goes every day, even this summer, because I only work a few days a week but I didn't want to have to have her additionally deal with the full-time schedule in the fall. Also, I have a 1-year-old and she naps a lot so my older daughter would just be hanging out if not at school. I've heard from other Parents that the teachers at her Elementary School are very nice and they all seem to know them personally, so I hope that because I'll be home a couple of days a week when I take her in I'll meet the teachers somewhat. I also have to get ready for PTA and things. I don't intend to be a particuarly active PTA member, but I do plan to join and participate peripherally. The whole thing seems exhausting to me, I can't imagine what it is for a 5-year-old!!!!!

I'll hold off on Girlscouts and look into American Heritage. Sunday School is more important to me and they'll do art projects and music (plus, it's Hebrew School so she'll also start to learn the Hebrew Alphabet) in addition to religion. I also think that her after-school program does activities and has clubs for sports if she wants that. She will be a walker, so no bus routine to get used to.

I am not the PP who recommended American Heritage Girls, OP, but I thought you should know that it is a strongly Christian organization.

OP here: Thanks everyone for the posts. I'm hoping to get more since it's on my mind and making me nervous! My daughter is friendly and makes friends easily but she is nervous and I feel nervous for her. I'm sure I'm projecting because I was a shy child and I'm trying to recognize the change in her life without making her nervous. She just stopped daycare naps and is tired. She goes every day, even this summer, because I only work a few days a week but I didn't want to have to have her additionally deal with the full-time schedule in the fall. Also, I have a 1-year-old and she naps a lot so my older daughter would just be hanging out if not at school. I've heard from other Parents that the teachers at her Elementary School are very nice and they all seem to know them personally, so I hope that because I'll be home a couple of days a week when I take her in I'll meet the teachers somewhat. I also have to get ready for PTA and things. I don't intend to be a particuarly active PTA member, but I do plan to join and participate peripherally. The whole thing seems exhausting to me, I can't imagine what it is for a 5-year-old!!!!!

I'll hold off on Girlscouts and look into American Heritage. Sunday School is more important to me and they'll do art projects and music (plus, it's Hebrew School so she'll also start to learn the Hebrew Alphabet) in addition to religion. I also think that her after-school program does activities and has clubs for sports if she wants that. She will be a walker, so no bus routine to get used to.