I'm such a good mommy I went to Open House

Tonight I went to my first open house.. this was important to me because my parents never went to open house and it kind of was one of many things that made me feel like I just didn’t matter that much.

(Without digressing too much I should say that it doesn’t mean I didn’t feel loved, I was and am and that’s all good. But they just didn’t stop their busy adult lives to participate in my kid life too much, and I noticed the difference in them and other parents and I didn’t like it.)

So back on track now.. tonight was the first open house. And I had no idea what I was in for. I was prepared for the full on pitch to gone the PTA. Which if I had a better idea of what PTA did, I might but it’s still a mystery to me. (remember the parent non-participation history thing) Truthfully it kind of scares me because in my overactive imagination they are all uber-SAHMs that will shun me because I choose to work.  I am afraid they are the militant Le Leche crowd six years later.*

But I digress. I made it through their portion without joining the cult of PTA and moved on to our classroom. I foolishly thought the funny note that was sent home describing the meeting as a “workshop” was just meant to encourage their no kids rule. Those folks were serious. This was no come on in and admire the little darlings macaroni artwork event. This was serious business – I got homework and shit.

I do have to say that I love Mrs T our teacher though. She’s just the sort to that my little drama queen needed. She’s an older lady who is originally from Long Island and Puddin’ thinks that makes them kindred spirits because she too was born in New York.  They also share a passion for performing. Ms T’s brother is (was?) a Broadway singer type and she copes with her sibling rivalry/jealousy by turning her classroom into a stage. They sing a lot. And I mean a lot. If I hear one more round of Apple Apple ah aha A. Baby baby bah bah B – I just might scream.

So, points of concern and frustration –

1. We seem to be a class full of working parents. Which means there is a lake of classroom Mom volunteers. I could do some stuff but not routinely or with an exact commitment and that doesn’t meet their needs. I worry that this will exhaust poor Ms T after the long haul.
2.  The kids haven’t been (and won’t be) evaluated and grouped by skill set. They are just all together. Some had pre-K some didn’t. Some don’t know their ABCs, some are reading already. I just don’t get that. Everyone suffers this way, the kids who are reading are bored and the kids who need more help aren’t getting the extra attention they need to catch up.
3.  They have almost no exposure to kids outside of their class. Recess is one class at a time only. Lunch is one table a class. This seems strange. Maybe I just imagine it because I grew up in a smallish town where I knew all the other kids but it seems like the classes played together and socialized.

That’s about it. That’s what I did tonight. The jury remains out on so much of this kindergarten experience so far. Most of my motivation in writing all this down is to reflect back later and laugh at myself at the end of the year.