“It’s always polite to stay to the right” and other good advice I’ve learned from children.

The signs of summer’s harvest are all around us with fruit ripe ready to eat and the smells of late summer’s cut grass. It’s been a whirlwind summer of performing for kids with candy floss on their hands hugging Magrau’s orange puppet feet and twirling around with my puppet Kamilla. It’s been a magical summer for entertaining and I’m thankful! Guess what’s just around the corner? Kindergarten? Grade six? Though one may wish that summer would last forever, school is an exciting and important time in a child’s life!

I remember the outfit I wore for my first day of school: I wore a plaid pantsuit and white turtle neck and walked confidently to school with my very first and special friend Donna. Donna and I were in kindergarten and we were walking to school by ourselves although the school happened to be just a few feet from our home. At least that’s what I thought. Years later my dear mom told me that she had tip-toed behind us hiding behind trees to keep an eye on us and make sure we got to school okay. I remember her waiting on the steps to greet me when I returned home. My mom later told me she didn’t leave the steps on the front porch all day in case I needed to come home before school was done and well….she was excited and in disbelief that her first born was already in school. Does this strike a chord with any of you moms out there?

Kellie in her school outfit equipped with large barrette and younger sister Marybeth Haines. Marybeth is now MY mentor.

By the way, my younger sister pictured here is today a Grief Specialist with people who have loved and lost a pet helping in healing. See

The Power of Pets | Empowering, Uplifting, Healing
www.authormarybethhaines.com

When it was time for me to visit my new school for the first time (Vimy School in Port Colborne Ontario), I can recall being startled by the children putting their hands up in the air. Was there a reason for this? I remember watching hands dart in the air all at once. This is funny to me now, because I had never really seen this hand raising before and simply didn’t understand the reason for it. Later in school, I understood that you couldn’t just raise your hand if you had nothing to say. You had to actually answer the question not only after you raised your hand but also after you were asked to answer the question. You couldn’t just blurt out the answer. Interesting. Hmmm.

Single file? This was fun to do at school. We walked in a line and it seemed like this act was very important. As an adult I was told by a young boy named Andrew that in the hallway “it’s always polite to stay to the right.” Who thinks of these things? Smart teachers and caregivers think of these things. Of course, it’s always polite to stay to the right when you’re on a sidewalk, riding your bike or driving a car.

Learning to tie your shoes, learning left from right, knowing how to drink out of a fountain…There’s got to be a first time for everything. Recently I got to watch some five year old friends of mine eat ice cream for the first time. It was amazing, and hilarious!

So, one day in the park with these same youngsters I decided to teach them what single file was and how to stay to the right. I thought it would useful for them to have some training on how to stay to the right and say hello before their first day at kindergarten, which is coming up in just a few days.

 

So keep on singing songs and keep up your work on the monkey bars and jungle gyms because school is just around the corner and pencils need to be sharpened. The new sights and smells of school await where you will meet new friends and old ones too. Learn with an open mind and remember, like my mom and dad always said, do your best and the rest will fall into place! Now I have to get a new outfit for Magrau and Kamilla who say they want to wear sparkles to school for their first day. Life is good.

Happy School Days!

Kellie, Magrau the bird and Kamilla a frog.