The Night Before Kindergarten

PICTURE BOOK

Written by Natasha Wing

Illustrated by Julie Durrell

Kindergarten is a big step for little people and sometimes even a little bit scary. This parody inspired by The Night Before Christmas attempts to alleviate the apprehension students may feel on the first day of school and reassures them that school is a  cool place.

In The Night Before Kindergarten all the children in the neighborhood are excited for their first day of school. They have prepared their outfits, stuffed their backpacks and settled in for the night. As morning arrives the children anxiously begin their day. Face washing, teeth brushing and even picture posing before making the exciting trip to their first day of kindergarten. Naturally, the parents were worried how the children would react when it was time to say good-bye so many of them hung around. It turns out the children quickly adapted and enjoyed a day full of  many fun activities. Meanwhile the parents had sniffly noses and eyes red and wet. Finally, moms and dads were allowed one final hug to settle their uneasiness about the first day of kindergarten and the children all waved good-bye. 

 

This picture book is an excellent poetry resource for pre-readers. Written with rich lyrical language it is bound to captivate young minds. It contains great examples of rhyme, imaginative and figurative language that can be revisited in later instruction. The illustrations are intricate and highly detailed except for the facial features of the people which are represented generally by dots and little lines. The colors are bold and vibrant and each picture is beautifully woven into the meaning of the text.

Reader Response Questions
1. Why do you think the mommies and daddies were sad?
2. On my first day of kindergarten I felt...
3. Who should or shouldn't read this book?

Motivational Activities

1. The teacher could create an oral book reading video to be viewed by the children and their parents the night before kindergarten. This would be a good opportunity for the teacher to introduce himself or herself. In addition, the teacher can invite the students to draw a picture of their favorite part of the first day of kindergarten as a closure activity at the end of the day.

Example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwyjx_YqgmM

2. The teacher can begin a classroom chart to mark the first 100 days of school. This activity can dub as practice for counting and cardinality. The teacher can also create some anticipation around Natasha Wings' book The Night Before the 100th Day of School.

Author Natasha Wing has created a great collection of The Night Before... that will keep the students engaged and in high anticipation for the day to come.

Wing, N., & Durrell, J. (2001). The Night Before Kindergarten. New York: Grosset & Dunlap.