BACK TO SCHOOL

Today is the last official day of vacation for my grandchildren as tomorrow the new school year officially starts at 8:30 AM!! It reminds me of an appropriate book called: All I Really Need to Know I learned in Kindergarten by Robert Fulgrum (2004). Don’t let the title fool you! There is a wealth of knowledge in this little book.

Fulgrum says this is what we learn in Kindergarten:

“Share everything; play fair don’t hit people;  put things back where you found them; clean up your own mess; don’t take things that aren’t yours; say you’re sorry when you hurt somebody; wash your hands before you eat; flush; warm cookies and cold milk are good for you;  live a balanced life; take a good nap every afternoon; when you go out into the world watch out for traffic hold hands and stick together;  wonder; goldfish and hamsters and white mice and even a little seed in the styrofoam  cup they all die so do we;  then remember the Dick and Jane books and the first word you learn….. the biggest word of all LOOK; everything you need to know IS in there somewhere”.

Wow… a mouthful and a brain wave full of info in 16 phrases! These most likely were messages and experiences each of us were exposed to in Kindergarten (and before in our families). How many of these do we still struggle with as adults???? I think my favorite is: “Remember the Dick and Jane books and the first word you learn… the biggest word of all LOOK”. Because when we truly LOOK at ourselves, our lives and our dreams, we as adults still have much to learn, to experience and to develop so that we can become that best version of a Kindergarten student  we can be!

Robert Frost, my favorite poet, says, “I am not  a teacher, but an awakener”. 

Which one of those Kindergarten learnings do you still struggle with as an adult??