Clap your hands and sing “We got spirit, yes we do. We got spirit, how ’bout you?”
My son is 5. He is in kindergarten. He isn’t my first kindergartner, and he won’t be my last.
And yet, I am continually surprised and aggravated when notes come home from school telling me that the kindergarteners are having a SPIRIT WEEK! And everyone should WEAR CERTAIN THINGS ON CERTAIN DAYS! And OH MY! it is exciting to be in kindergarten, but come on.
Can’t we be just as excited wearing WHAT OUR MOM WANTS US TO WEAR?
(And what she has clean.)
I mean, seriously. I cannot be the only one that finds this a wee bit annoying.
And if I am well, I never said I was a perfect mom. A mom who has all the laundry done, at all times, and is always prepared for SPIRIT WEEK!
And I wouldn’t mind so much that this week is SPIRIT WEEK! and we must dress accordingly, wearing our favorite team shirts and tie dye and pajamas on certain days. EXCEPT that JUST LAST WEEK, it was Dr. Seuss week. And we dressed accordingly for that. 5.Days.In.A.Row.
Granted, Dr. Seuss week had a couple of easy days, like hat day. Throw a hat on…good to go. But it also had Wacky Wednesday. Whereby, everybody was supposed to DRESS WACKY! FOR FUN! And the schools’ idea of wacky dress was to wear your clothes backwards. And when my son came down for breakfast that Wednesday morning and needed me to do the zipper on his jeans, because they were on backwards, I ran to the dryer and pulled out a pair of nylon workout type pants. Because I thought they would be a little more comfortable worn backwards. But my poor boy, he was really going to try to zip up those jeans on backwards.
I am raising a follower.
Now I ask you, what kind of learning can you do when all day you’re pulling at your jeans as they are cutting into your stomach because they are on backwards? Do you say, “Sorry teacher, I’d love to sing the days of the week song for you, but all I can think about is how I’m going to get my zipper up after I go to the bathroom”? Jeans aren’t made to fit backwards, people.
And wearing a shirt backwards is not much better. Because the tag would drive me crazy. And my son complains about itchy tags all the time. So I can only imagine the amount of knowledge he will retain on a day he has to wear his shirt backwards and pull at a tag scratching his neck all day.
And I don’t care if it is SPIRIT WEEK!
I think these Wacky Wednesday type days are ridiculous.
And yet, I conform. I do. I’m ashamed of it.
I follow the SPIRIT WEEK! schedule everyday when planning what my son should wear to school. Heaven forbid he is ostracized by a bunch of 5 year olds for not wearing silly socks. Or backwards clothes. Or his FAVORITE TIE DYE T-SHIRT!
Which, by the way, he doesn’t even own. Yet.
I have to go out and buy one. A FAVORITE one.
By Friday.
I am just full of SPIRIT THIS WEEK!
And don’t even get me started on Pajama Day.
Posted: March 11th, 2008 under Parental Observations.
Comments: 22
Comments
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Time: March 11, 2008, 4:22 am
[...] Lisa is a true recipe for delightful information. Clap your hands and sing â [...]
Comment from Martha
Time: March 11, 2008, 5:28 am
Hey!!! Your blog looks great! (**clap-clap** Yes! IT! DOOOEEEESSS! Woo!).
The tie dye thing would chap my hide. Where does one get a tie-dyed shirt???
Comment from Queen B
Time: March 11, 2008, 6:10 am
I feel your pain. My favorite has always been Crazy Hair Day! I keep my daughter’s hair short for a reason…I am not capable of of fixing hair for Good Hair Day!. So Crazy Hair Day! puts us in a serious bind.
Don’t think I haven’t tie dyed a shirt for the same exact thing. Oh yes I have.
Comment from chrissy
Time: March 11, 2008, 7:47 am
Tie dye day is a tough one to fake. I’m even worse, I forget about it entirely, and my kid is the only one getting out of the car wearing normal clothes. Poor thing. I also sent her to school on Halloween in kindergarten wearing her Halloween costume, and, um, she was the only one. Because they’re not allowed to wear them. Nice.
Comment from Erin
Time: March 11, 2008, 8:20 am
I’ve been ignoring Spirit Week for the exact reason you said…we just did freakin’ Dr. Seuss week! Meghan keeps asking me what she’s supposed to wear and my response is “I don’t care.” I don’t have time for this nonsense. I actually had Caden’s teacher email me to ask if I thought it was ok for them to wear PJ’s on Thursday since they are going on a field trip. My answer - Uh, no! My kid won’t wear pajamas to a field trip even if it is spirit week! Seriously!
Comment from Erin
Time: March 11, 2008, 8:20 am
PS, The new look is really nice.
Comment from Deb - Mom of 3 Girls
Time: March 11, 2008, 8:32 am
Oh yes - I’m with you. Even back in preschool where they had days where they had to wear whatever color they were learning about - I’m sorry, you want my kid to wear an orange shirt? Not only did my 3-year-old not own one, I couldn’t find anything orange in the girls department so had to buy a boys t-shirt that I think nobody has worn since…
Although my 5-year-old could qualify for Wacky Wednesday quite often on her own. And she seems to like wearing shirts backward and shoes on the wrong feet too. What a goofball. 
Comment from ValleyGirl
Time: March 11, 2008, 8:42 am
Ugh, I hated SPIRIT WEEK! my whole school career. Man, I hated it. I was NOT a follower and therefore did NOT fit in those weeks. I even went so far as to take SPIRIT WEEK! off in grade 12 because I was just sick of it. Anyway, I digress….
I’ve been a little unimpressed with some things our kindergarten class does, too. Like activities where EACH child must have an adult present in order to participate, but younger siblings aren’t allowed to come. Which forces me to PAY a babysitter just so that my kindergartner doesn’t have to sit in a corner by herself and watch while the other kids have fun. Does that make any sense to you? What if I actually had a job? Those days really tick me off.
Comment from Kristy
Time: March 11, 2008, 9:05 am
I loved pajama day when I was in school - of course, this was middle school, rather than kindergarten. I never looked so cute when I actually went to bed, though.
Comment from nottryingforaboy
Time: March 11, 2008, 9:42 am
I’m glad the kindergarten that my girls will attend has uniforms. No thought involved. And spirit day hopefully won’t be a spirit week!
Comment from Kelly @ Love Well
Time: March 11, 2008, 9:47 am
First — favorite tie dye shirt?!? I would understand this if you lived in Santa Cruz (motto: “Where Hippies Go To Die, Man”). But Chicago? I don’t get it.
Second — since Natalie’s school is in the middle of a read-a-thon, last Friday was proclaimed “Dress Up As Your Favorite Book Character Day.” I thought about it for about 30 seconds, decided we didn’t have a favorite book character or a costume of said character, and dismissed it from my mind. But guess who’s daughter was one of the only kids not dressed in costume on Friday? It looks like most of the kids just wore recycled Halloween costumes, which we could have done. But since it didn’t honor the spirit of the contest (I really don’t think the first graders read that many books about Spiderman and Cinderella), I refused to participate.
Comment from Rebecca
Time: March 11, 2008, 10:00 am
Oh dear… Things like this would drive.me.crazy.
Comment from Lisa
Time: March 11, 2008, 12:55 pm
oh, see this is where the slacker mom in me comes out… i, just for the most part hmmm… ignore it. I know, I know… bad mama.
Comment from Jdude
Time: March 11, 2008, 1:28 pm
Oh - HONEY! Don’t get ME started! I have 4 kids - the oldest is 15 and I have hated the “conformity” days since Green Bay Packer day on about the fourth day of school in Milwaukee 4 year old Kindergarten. We were still in school - had NO money - and I had to come up with a blasted Green and Gold outfit. My “princess of pink” owned nothing Green and the closest thing to Gold was her tirara! I ended up buying her a clearance sweatshirt with cartoon caricatures of Brett Farve and some other black player. It was horrific - but alas, the only thing I could afford. I vowed then and always to never conform again!!!
And don’t tell anyone - but I stopped participating in fundraisers - I just write an appropriate size check a the August Back to School night in the amount of what I figure they will make off me and I am spared the ugly, expensive wrapping paper and the nasty cookie do and I get to tell my kids that “we already gave at the office”! I just have to make a big deal about them handing over the ‘donation’ so that they remember that we did it and I promise to buy them a really cool bouncy ball every time they don’t earn the “I sold 5!!!” plastic pen award!
Good on you girl - stay strong!
Comment from Jen on the Edge
Time: March 11, 2008, 7:19 pm
Our school does Spirit days on Mondays. WHO, I ask you, remembers those things on Mondays? I do, actually, but only because I tape reminders all over the kitchen. But then you see those poor kids who forgot and you just know their day is no fun at all.
My kids love Pajama Day and I can see why, BUT all I can think about is how I’m going to have to wash their robes and slippers as soon as they come home, since they were at a filthy school all day and cannot be worn again until practically boiled. Yes, I am a bit germ-phobic.
Comment from Drama Mama
Time: March 11, 2008, 7:24 pm
I’m with ya sista! Luv the new colors! very sophisticated!
Comment from JanMary, N Ireland
Time: March 12, 2008, 6:41 am
Fortunately Spirit days have yet to reach our shores - and on behalf of all mums here, I have no intention of enlightening our educators.
We only have about 2 dress-up days per year - and usually it is just a non-uniform day for charity (pay not to wear school uniform). We even escaped on International Book Day this year - no dressing up tortuire required - yeah!!!!
Comment from Christie
Time: March 12, 2008, 9:30 am
Oh, I feel your spirit day pain. We’ve had our own days here, too. My aggravation comes from my daughter who can’t remember which day is which and goes to bed every night in tears, worried she’s wearing the wrong thing. ENOUGH already.
Comment from Leslie (snaphappyinkymomma)
Time: March 12, 2008, 12:51 pm
LOL!
My kindergartener is a follower, too.
We’ll have “Spirit Fridays” starting in May. He’s already talking about Pajama Day.
Comment from forcryeye
Time: March 13, 2008, 4:50 pm
I hear ya girl. Whatever today was, my S didn’t participate. For me, every day is black day…no guessing! Can’t wait to see you Friday!
Comment from Jenny from Chicago
Time: March 13, 2008, 8:43 pm
I am printing this and sending it to every teacher at our school. Thank you. You are doing a public service here.
Comment from Jennifer
Time: March 14, 2008, 6:10 pm
Ok so who actually owns a “favorite” tye dye t shirt? I mean if you own one you usually don’t own another. Do the educators at this school see many of these shirts to proclaim a “Favorite” day?
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