I know a lot of you are getting ready to send a child off to kindergarten.

(And I know the thought of that first day of school is often way harder for moms than it is for the kids.)

But if your son or daughter is a little (or a lot) nervous about that first day, I want to make sure you know about the book, The Kissing Hand (affiliate), by Audrey Penn.

I was first introduced to this book when I was a sixth grade teacher about twenty years ago. And there is a good chance your child’s  preschool or kindergarten teacher will read it to him or her on the first day of school.

Number 6 was very apprehensive about going to school last year. (I was also a disaster, so I don’t think I helped matters).

I knew I needed to read him this story.

The Kissing Hand is the story of Chester the raccoon. Chester is nervous about going to school, so his mother kisses the palm of his hand and tells him “whenever you feel lonely and need a little loving from home, just press your hand to your cheek and think, ‘Mommy loves you. Mommy loves you.'”

Last year Number 6 was having trouble dealing with the thought of going to kindergarten.

Of course I waited until the night before school to look for our copy of The Kissing Hand and I couldn’t find it, so all I could do was tell him the story.

It made him feel better. But he was still nervous.

So on the morning of that first day of school, he asked me to draw a heart on his palm so he’d have a kiss on there like Chester the racoon did.

Then he asked for another one on the other hand. Just for some extra love.

And that’s what we did.

Actually, we did that every day for about the first month of school.

And every day before he got onto the bus, I’d give him a kiss right on those hearts.

But that first day of kindergarten he came home and said to me, “Mommy! Guess what story my teacher read to me today!”

Sure enough, it was The Kissing Hand.

Knowing the story and having those little hearts on his hands made him feel a little more comfortable at school, too.

But I was kicking myself for not having the actual book the night before his first day of kindergarten.

Of course I found it the next morning, and we read it just about every night that first week of school.

It really helped me.

I mean him. It really helped him.

If you have a child with the kindergarten jitters and could use a cute story to read that will help him/her deal not only with that first day of school but also with any other unfamiliar situation where he/she is feeling unsure and apprehensive, I highly recommend it!

And hang in there, Mamas! Your kindergartener (and you) are going to be just fine.

 

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