hunterhayden - go to www.bn.com and search for either the title, The Kissing Hand or the author, Audrey Penn. It's a very sweet story!

What is the kissing hand poem. We are doing a breakfast for our Pre-k parents also and need something for them too. What are the comfort packs you give them? This will be our first year doing this, How long does it usually last? Thank you for the info. all will help.
Sheri

Hi! Here is the poem that we've used. I can't remember where I found it.

"Twas the night before kindergarten and as they prepared,
kids were excited and a little bit scared.
They tossed and they turned about in their beds, while visions of school supplies danced in their heads.
Outfits were hung in their closets with care,
knowing that kindergarten soon would be there.
In the morning it came-school starts today!
Would the teacher be nice? Would they still get to play?
Faces were washed and teeth were brushed white;
Kids posed for pictures iwth eyes sparkling bright.
Parents packed snacks and kids hopped in cars,
as if they were boarding a spaceship to Mars.

Some kids brought blankets or their favorite stuffed bear;
in hopes they could nap just like in day care.
Their parents exclaimed: "You're big kids- Wow!
Let us hold your bears and blankies for now.
The parents were worried their children would cry
if they left them at school with just a good-bye.
So they told their darlings, "if you want, we can stay
and make sure that everything will be A-Okay."
The teacher then greeted each one with a smile,
and invited the students to stay for a while.

The room was all filled with toys, books, and maps,
but where were the beds for midmorning naps?
They colored and painted and palyed Simon Says,
then tumbled and skipped and stood on their heads.
They sang silly songs from beginning to end,
Within just a minute, each kid had a friend.
The children were happy, they loved Miss Sunrise,
It was she who was in for a giant surprise.
When what to her wondering eyes should appear,
But sad moms and dads who were holding back tears.
Their noses-so sniffly! Their eyes-red and wet!
This was the saddest goodbye Miss Sunrise had seen yet!
She gathered the grown-ups on the magical rug,
then sent them away after one final hug.
The children all waved from the door of the school.
"Don't cry, Mom and Dad; Kindergarten is COOL!

I hope this helps some of you!!!

I am looking for new ideas for a Tears & Cheers reception. I was looking for a new poem to use. In the past we have used the "Kissing Hand" and made "Parent Comfort Packs" with a cute poem w/cotton ball,tissue and a tea bag.
Any suggestions????

Hi SHOPOHOLIC,

Do you happen to still have a copy of the poem you used for the BOO HOO breakfast??? We are going to have one this year and I thought it was a nice touch! You can send it to my PTA email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.!
Thanks,
Cathy

We did the boo hoo breakfast last year and now are doing it as a yearly event. The difference with ours if that our Principal and K teacher incorporated the first day of school for the kindergarten students to the event. Instead of going to the classroom, the students and parents went to the cafeteria were the PTO served pancakes and juice. The Principal welcomed the students and parents. After that, the k teacher talked to the families and read stories to the students. I can't remember the story but it was something about anxiety with leaving mom and dad the first day of school. The parent in the story put a kiss stamp on the child's hand to remember by when they were at school. Our k teacher had each student come up and she put a stamp on their hand. The event lasted about an hour and a half and was a good transition for the students and parents. The pto had a poster board advertising our different fundraisers where the parents signed in at. We provided name tags and gave each family a welcome packet. Boy did we look like the bomb.