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MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS Ben Silver, 4, puts on his new backpack that he will be taking to kindergarten next week while his mother Tannis and brother Alexander, 7, sit on the couch. Tannis Silver, a teacher and mother, is getting ready to send her youngest, Ben, to kindergarten next week. She says Ben has been more hesitant about starting school than his older siblings. In order to get him excited, she's created a colourful countdown to kindergarten. The four-year-old is opening the equivalent of an advent calendar; every day, there's a new school-related item to open and put in his backpack. Reporter: Maggie Macintosh 240829 - Thursday, August 29, 2024.