Recently, my six-year-old granddaughter and I spent an entire weekend of one-on-one time. One of our conversations centered on upcoming Labor Day, end of summer and back to school. She is transitioning from kindergarten to first grade, and is so excited. When I probed a bit about her anticipation of this new school year, she said she loved getting a new backpack and school supplies. She did not know who her teacher would be, but was sure she would like her. She named friends she’d see once again; and new ones she hoped to meet. She couldn’t wait to learn more reading and math skills. Music. Gym. Recess. They were on all her list of eagerly anticipated events. She was just a little apprehensive about a more complicated schedule—including riding the bus for the first time—but she said there were people to help her. “It will all be fine, Grandma.”
Our talk and her delightful, honest dialogue around basically, change and unknowns, made me think of one of my favorite works (made into a very popular poster hung in many an office, classroom and home), All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten, by Robert Fulghum. Here it is:
“All I really need to know about how to live and what to do and how to be I learned in kindergarten. Wisdom was not at the top of the graduate school mountain, but there in the sand pile at school. These are the things I learned:
- 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—learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some.
- Take a nap every afternoon.
- When you go out in the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands and stick together.
- Be aware of wonder. Remember the little seed in the Styrofoam cup; the roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why, but we are all like that.
- Goldfish and hamsters and white mice and even the little seed in the Styrofoam cup—they all die. So do we.
- And then remember the Dick-and-Jane books and the first word you learned —the biggest word of all—LOOK.
I also thought back to my own childhood and my favorite place at school—the playground. Some more life lessons came to mind:
- Don’t judge people on the surface. If you observe children on the playground, they typically run off to find a playmate. It’s not about looks; it’s more often about tuning in to see if that other child wants to have fun…participate in the adventure.
- If you fall down, get up again and go on. When a child falls down and skins a knee, he/she might need a bit of TLC. Not for long. There are things to do! Sometimes adults forget this lesson. When bad things happen, what’s to be gained by dwelling on it? Get over it and move on.
- Dance, sing and be happy. Young children are quick to express themselves creatively through motion, voice and other means. How sad that as we get older, we sometimes worry so much about what others will think of our actions, that we stifle that spirit. Being outwardly joyous decreases tension and stress.A smile or laugh is contagious. We could all learn to smile and laugh more. We could all benefit from sharing our joy with others.
- Each day is a new beginning. Children forget and forgive quickly. They rarely hold grudges. I remember so many instances where children fought, were “enemies” and next day best friends again. What great role modeling for adults!
- Have faith and believe. This is perhaps one of the most charming childhood qualities to grasp and keep throughout adulthood. It’s something that many adults sadly lose. They see things as they are; not as they could be. To imagine and dream leads to opportunities. If we observe them, children will show us how they believe. Where’s the rule that says one stops believing at a certain age? It’s a gift to be strived for and nourished.
What if everyone had cookies and milk in mid-afternoon and then lay down for a nap? What if governments and corporations and individuals always smiled, forgave, believed, put things back, cleaned up their messes, made friends unconditionally and helped each other by holding hands and sticking together? What a wonderful world that would be!
