I used to have a book that I absolutely adored, because it made sense. It was called "All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten," by Robert Fulghum. Last Thursday I tore my house apart looking for it but didn’t find it. I probably gave it away in some moment of “I need to get rid of some of this crap”.

Anyway, kindergarten, and back to school in general, has been on my mind lately, mostly because my five-year-old grandson starts kindergarten this week. (I mentioned that last week too, sorry … not sorry!)

I hope that all the kids returning to the classroom this week and in recent weeks have an amazing year. In Highland Falls, there’s a lot new to get used to – three buildings worth of students are now sharing just two buildings while the Fort Montgomery Elementary School is closed for some renovations. There will be some growing pains, I imagine, but school years go fast, and before they know it, they’ll be back in their regular locations. I have a lot of faith that the HF-FMCSD’s administrators and teachers and support staff will bend over backwards to make it work. Cars have been in the school parking lots for weeks now as all those folks were in early to get ready for the year to begin.

So, back to that book. Once I stopped manically looking for it, I decided to look for some quotes online. Why didn’t I just do that in the first place?

Here are some of Mr. Fulghum’s best tips, in my opinion:

“Share everything. Play fair. Don’t hit people. Put things back where you found them. Clean up your own mess. Don’t take things that aren’t yours. Say you’re sorry when you hurt somebody. Wash your hands before you eat. Flush. Take a nap every afternoon. When you go out into the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands, and stick together.”

I also like this one: “Speed and efficiency do not always increase the quality of life.”

Those rules apply to life well beyond kindergarten. I think maybe all of us should occasionally take a little refresher kindergarten class.

Here’s a final favorite from Mr. Fulghum: “Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.” I think we can all get behind that!

If you want to read more, after I finish reading it again, you can borrow my new copy (the 25th anniversary edition!) that I just ordered. $11.52 for the best life advice ever? I think that’s a good investment!

Have a great week! (And kids … don’t forget to do your homework!)