Classroom Confidential: Kids Advising Kids

"First-graders don't do a lot of subtraction, but in second grade you do."

"Don't draw on the table. Just ask the teacher for paper."

"Leave your jacket and bag in your cubby. But if you forget something in your backpack, you can go back to your cubby and get it later."

"Math class is fun when you get to count out loud with the teacher. You can count all the way to 120 in kindergarten."

"You get more homework than you did in first grade, but you get to do fun stuff like measuring things. I didn't know a foot was 12 inches. I thought it was a lot longer."

"The teacher may try to fool you. During a lesson she'll say the wrong answer to a math problem, like 2+2=500. But you'll know the real answer and get to yell out 'no!'"

Shuiling: "We sometimes have 'twin day' at school, when you can dress like someone else."

Meiling: "We always choose each other."

"In Pre-K you'll learn the days of the week. There's a song that tells you what day it is. School starts on Mondays and the weekends are the best."

"You have to spell things the right way when you write stories, but if you don't know how to spell a word you can always ask your teacher."

"There are no toys in the first-grade classroom. Instead, there are books you can read if you finish the 'do now' problem early."

"You'll go on fun trips in first grade. I went on a bus with my teacher and friends to see a play."

"You can do amazing things in extracurricular activities too. I got my green belt in karate."

"You might get to dissect something cool. We did owl pellets. We found a rat skull, teeth, and claws. It doesn't smell bad -- just kind of like tea bags."

"On the first day you might see all new faces in class, but then you'll see some faces of friends from Pre-K too and feel happy."

"You might be able to climb to the top of the rope in gym class in fourth grade like I did. You'll be stronger this year than you were before."

"When you play dodgeball, it's more fun to hit somebody with the ball than to be hit by the ball."

Originally published in the September 2015 issue of Parents magazine.