KINDERGARTEN
Words and music by Lou Del Bianco

My mommy woke me up today
And told me I had to get dressed right away.
"The teacher is waiting,
I'm so proud of you.
This is your very first day of..."

Refrain:
Kindergarten, kindergarten,
Butterflies in my tummy, oooh!
Kindergarten, kindergarten,
What am I gonna do?

Locked inside my daddy's car,
We waited in front of the school yard.
My mommy said, "Come now, we cannot be late."
And I said, "I'll wait, I'll wait till I'm eight for..."

Refrain:

I held my mommy's hand so tight.
I held back the tears with all my might.
And the teacher said, "Well, what's your name?"
And I said, "I don't know and I don't wanna go to..."

Refrain:

My mommy left and waved goodbye
And I turned around and I started to cry.
Then a little boy came up to me
And he said, "It's o.k. You wanna play?" in....

Refrain:

So I played with Mark, Danny and Sue,
Chrissy, Lisa, Bobbie Ann too.
When the day was done
I asked everyone, "When can I come back to..."

Refrain:
Kindergarten, kindergarten,
Now I'm not so scared of you.
Kindergarten, kindergarten,
I love you. (2x)

KINDERGARTEN - FOR KIDS ONLY - Teacher's Guide - 3 III.

KINDERGARTEN Themes:

• Fear of the unknown.
• Learning how to acclimate to new surroundings.
• Separation from parent.

Listening Comprehension:

1. Who woke Lou up at the beginning of the song? His mommy.

2. What was it the first day of? Kindergarten

3. What did the teacher ask Lou? What's your name

4. When Lou's mommy left, what did Lou do? He started to cry.

5. What did the little boy ask Lou? You wanna play?

6. Who are one or two of the kids Lou started to play with? Mark, Danny, Sue, Chrissy, etc..

Relate to Lou, relate to you:

1. Do you remember your very first day of kindergarten? How did you feel? Did you have "butterflies in your tummy" like Lou did? Talk about that first day.

2. Everyone gets a little nervous when they start something new. Make a list of new things you tried this week, this month, this year.

3. What activity interests you but you are scared to try it? Name an activity that you were afraid to try, but once you tried it you liked it. Example: playing a new sport, playing an instrument, singing in front of everyone, etc..

4. Children can discuss reasons why Lou didn't want to leave his mother on the first day of kindergarten.

Follow-up activities:

1. Art: Make a comic strip of Lou's experiences on his first day of kindergarten in sequence of the song, or make a comic strip of personal experiences on the first day of kindergarten in sequence as it really happened.

2. Personal History: Bring in something you made in kindergarten and describe it to the class. Tell the class how you felt when you made the object and why you or your parents kept it.

3. Math: Count back how many years ago you were in kindergarten, how many years ago your older brother or sister was in kinder garten, your parents, your grandparents, etc...