First Day Interviews & a Poem

I printed off some first-day-of-school interviews from a blog I linked through Pinterest.  (Actually, I printed the tailored interviews for preschool through twelfth grade and filed them into the kids school bins so that they're ready at the beginning of each year.  And, yes, I'm fully aware that these will probably be considered soooo nerdy to the kids in a few years.  :))

We "interviewed" the kids over dinner on either the night before or the night of their respective first days of school and they loved being the center of attention.  Similarly, I will often ask the kids a random peppering of questions like these when I'm just trying to initiate conversation at random times or keep them entertained in public places where they might be bored.  They love it and always ask me to keep asking questions if I pause.  Kids love talking about themselves!  :)  As long as the question isn't "how was your day?" or "what did you do today?"  Then they draw a blank.  You have to ask the right questions.  So I knew they'd love these.

Here are their responses!

Will:
First Day of Kindergarten

My best friend's name is:  Charli
My favorite thing to play:  Transformers
My favorite color:  scarlet (never just "red", always "scarlet")
My favorite book:  Dinosaurs Galore
My favorite TV show:  Transformers Rescue Bots
My favorite food:  strawberries
When I grow up, I want to:  be a police man
Something I really like:  library books
Something I really don't like:  sleeping at nap time
My favorite thing about myself:  I can balance on my bike
Something I want to do this year:  go to Kindergarten

Sophie:
First Day of Preschool

My best friend's name is:  Mya & Stella
My favorite thing to play:  babies
My favorite color:  pink
My favorite book:  Fancy Nancy
My favorite TV show:  Dora
My favorite food:  peanut butter and jelly
When I grow up, I want to:  be a chef and a mommy
Something I really like:  bracelets
Something I really don't like:  the dark
My favorite thing about myself:  that I'm fast
Something I want to do this year:  play at preschool

The funny thing about these interviews is that, at this age, they are so much more an in-the-moment reflection rather than a depiction of them at this age/school year.  I could ask them the same questions tomorrow and get different answers, i.e. Will now says his best friend is Jagger because they sit together on the bus and play together at recess every day.  :)  For the most part, I could have guessed what each of them answered this time, with just a couple exceptions:  Will rarely talks about being a police man and Sophie almost never requests Fancy Nancy lately.  Also, Sophie's favorite color has always been purple but seems to have recently changed.  And she plays far more with dress up clothes and kitchen stuff than babies.  At least at home.  When we're at other people's houses, she usually gravitates to the baby dolls.

Also, on these interviews, is a place to show how they write their name at each age (which will be fun to see a progression) and also their current height and weight.  I've filed them away into their respective folders for safe keeping.  :)

One last thing while I'm typing away in this picture-less post:  a poem that Will's teacher sent home on the first day of school.  I challenge you not to cry while reading this.  Especially if you have a young school-aged child this time of year.  It's written from the perspective of the teacher speaking to the parent.

The First Day
I gave you a little wink and smile
as you entered my room today.
For I know how hard it is to leave
and know your child must stay.
You've been with him for five years now
and have been a loving guide.
But now, alas, the time has come
to leave him at my side.
Just know that as you drive away
and tears down your cheeks may flow,
I'll love him as I would my own
and help him learn and grow.
So please put your mind at ease
and cry those tears no more,
for I will love him and take him in
when you leave him at my door.

Yep.  I totally cried.  Right there on the kitchen floor while we were emptying his Comet folder.  Can you blame me?