Kindergarten
Thanks for joining us!
This episode was written by Kara and voiced by Kara and T.
Episode art was drawn by Jean.
It was originally released in July 2025.
— Check out these pieces about kindergarten —
Click on each photo for a link to the book on our Bookshop.org account
— Kindergarten Episode Summary —
What is kindergarten? —
In the United States, kindergarten is the first year of elementary school. Once you turn five years old, you can go to kindergarten.
Kindergarten is part of elementary school, which includes many other grades. Sometimes TK (transitional kindergarten). Also 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th grades.
All of those grades have classrooms in the same big school. The classrooms are next to each other in one big building. Your elementary school was a much bigger place than where you went to preschool, which can come with some feelings!
And each classroom has its own teacher! Maybe even more than one teacher, that’s up to each school.
A group of kids are in a classroom together. And there could be just one kindergarten classroom, or there could be more, each with their own teacher, each with their own room. All part of the same elementary school.
Kids in elementary school have a start to the “school year”. But you know what’s silly? It’s not when we start a new year on the calendar! Friends, do you know when we start a new year, like when we will go from the year 2025 to 2026? It’s on January 1st!
But the school year begins in the late summer. In California, kindergarten often starts in the middle of August! For our friends in other parts of the country, it can start later, like early September. And then you’re in school all through the fall and the winter and the spring, and then the school year ends around early summertime.
A kindergarten classroom —
So when you go to school, you’ll walk into the doors that get you into the big building. Your grownup may walk you up to your classroom door, or they may help you line up outside and your teacher will walk you inside. Your school will tell you how they like to do it.
And you will walk through the hallways until you get to your classroom. There will be a way to remember it- maybe a number or a name. And it’ll be your teacher’s classroom. So if your teacher is Ms. Monte, it may be Ms. Monte’s class, room #4.
And then, inside the classroom, there’s so much fun and interesting stuff! You may do some things to settle in. You’ll probably hang up your coat, and put your backpack and lunchbox in a certain spot. Maybe put your water bottle on a table or in a cubby. And then you’ll go to a certain spot.
In many kindergarten classrooms, there are different areas. There are desks, where kids have their own little table and chair. It will probably have your name on it. You may keep supplies like pencils and crayons and notebooks there. There may also be a rug or circle area.
It’s up to your teacher when the students will be in those areas. Which can feel a little different than in preschool. At T’s preschool, she was able to go into all of the parts of their classroom whenever she wanted.
In kindergarten, your teacher may have certain times to do things, a schedule. It’ll probably be listed somewhere that you can see it, and you’ll come to learn it too.
It can be so fun to share things with your friends and your teacher! But in kindergarten, and really in all classrooms, we can’t just shout out whatever we want to say right when we want to say it. Because what if every kid did that? It’d be chaos!
I bet your teacher will have a way for you to show, without making sounds, that you want to say something. Maybe something like raising your hand! T’s teacher asked them to do different hand signs for having a question or comment.
Being part of a bigger school —
Most of your day will be in your classroom, with your teacher. There may be other teachers there too, to help with a certain part of the day, or to help one of your classmates.
Your school may have other rooms for the library or for art. Classes will visit them at certain times of day, on certain days of the week.
The cafeteria is the room where you have lunch! You bring your lunchbox with your packed lunch there, or you get to have the lunch that the school makes! Your teacher or the lunch aide will probably tell you where to go, and your class may sit together.
Some schools also have an auditorium, a big room where everybody gathers - it could have a stage for performances or assemblies. Or a gymnasium, gym for short, where they do sports and moving games and dance. And sometimes they have one big room that can switch over to be both the cafeteria and the gym.
And then there are the outdoor spots! Your school will have some kind of area to play outside – you may have a wide open space like a blacktop or a grassy field, where you can play games and run around. Maybe there will be a playground or a basketball hoop!
And then when recess is done, you lined up with your classmates, right? And when you walked inside, did you all run around in every direction, yelling and singing and making tons of noise? Noooo.
Because there are ways to behave when you’re inside a school. When you’re in the hallways or outside, there are other classrooms where they’re learning and focusing. And when you’re on your way to the library, another class of kids may be walking to the cafeteria. In school, we often walk in lines so that everyone can fit and no one gets lost! And we walk with a teacher or another grownup.
You may be able to leave the classroom and walk through the halls on your own when you need to use the bathroom. Your teacher will explain the rules for how and when you can use the bathroom - and of course, if you need to use the bathroom, you should always ask to! You may need a pass, to show that your teacher knows you’ve left the classroom.
So your elementary school will have your kindergarten class, and many other classes and grades. And the leaders of the school have thought of ways to keep it safe and calm and comfortable, so that all of these classes can learn side by side.
Every school has a certain start and end time.
Meeting new people —
We’ve talked a lot about the school stuff, the building and the classroom, but one of the best things about going to school is the people! It’s having a teacher, a new grownup who is there to help you, and friends to share and play with!
Sometimes meeting new people is exciting! Sometimes it’s a bit scary! Sometimes it’s both! Maybe you’ll go to school with some kids you already know, or maybe you’ll be meeting all new classmates.
I think the hardest part of that is the first few days, because you’re meeting so many new people at once! I have such a hard time learning names and remembering who people are. That’s ok. You’re all meeting a lot of new people at the same time.
One of the best times for playing with new friends is at recess! If there’s a game that you like to play, maybe you could ask other kids to play with you? They may say yes- great! Or they may say.. No, I want to swing on the monkey bars! That’s fine too! Or they may say… no I don’t want to play superheroes, but let’s do tag! And then you get to decide what you want to do.
Maybe everyone will feel like a best friend. Maybe you’ll find a certain kid or two that you especially like to play with. No matter what, we treat everyone with respect. We are kind and helpful to everyone. T explains that their school’s rules are: be safe, be respectful, be responsible, be an ally.
And in addition to having new friends your age, you’ll find that there are a lot of grownups in elementary school! There is your teacher, of course. Your teacher is the leader of your classroom. They are there to teach you, and support you, and help you find your way. And they are helping every other kid in the class too! So they may not always be able to answer your question at the exact moment you have it, you may need to be patience and wait a moment. But you can always ask your teacher for help.
There are lots of other adults in the school. There are the teachers of the other classes. There are the adults who are in charge of other areas, like the librarian who leads the library, and helps you find great new books! Or the gym teacher who leads the games and physical activities. The cafeteria chef who makes and shares the food. And there are people who keep the school running! Like the custodians who help us clean the building. And the office manager.
In charge of all of those people, the leader of the whole school, is the principal! Sometimes in books or movies, they make the principal seem like a mean person, who you have to go to if you’re in trouble. And yea… if you do something really bad, you may indeed need to have a chat with the principal. But T’s principal is really nice! We see him all the time walking around the school and talking to students.
Personal management —
Being five years old, and being a kindergartener, means that you’re getting bigger! And you can handle new things. There are going to be a lot of things to learn, especially in the beginning. Like where to line up, where to put your things, how to ask for the bathroom.
And part of taking care of yourself happens even outside of school! You need to take care of yourself in the morning – wake up on time, get out of bed (even if you don’t wanna, bed is the best!). And actually, go to bed the night before at a good time so you get enough sleep!
When you wake up in the morning, you need to get on clothes for the day and brush your teeth. Make sure that you have your water bottle and a plan for lunch, whether that’s bringing your own or eating the school lunch.
You need to get to school on time! School has a specific start time and it’s important that we’re there for the start of school. Kids get to school in all different ways - some drive or bike with their grownups, some walk to school, some take the bus. With the bus you especially have to be ready on time because that bus has other stops to make!
Your teacher may give you a job in the classroom. Things like being a line leader or feeding the class pet.
And at the end of the day, you need to know your plan for how you’ll get home. Is someone you know picking you up? Are you going to an aftercare program, at your school or somewhere else? You and your grownup will talk about it, and make a plan.
We adults, your grownups at home and your teacher, we will always help and guide you. We love you! We want you to have a great time and feel happy and excited to be in kindergarten. We will do whatever we can to support you.
We cannot always know what everything will be like during your day, but we will always be here when your day is done, and want to listen to anything you want to tell us.