second day of school

I am realizing how confusing gestures and verbal signals can be for kindergarteners. Entering a complicated new setting in which they are expected to do more than play is a lot in itself for these little minds. And then, there is the teacher's bounty of directions, cues and expectations. I started wondering about the possibility of going over expectations and class rules the first day. Kindergarten teachers stress how we should not worry about too much with these little ones the first few weeks. And, I know they do become overwhelmed, but I wonder if some early rule-setting could eliminate some of their confusion.

For example, we did not tell students the procedures for the different activities (group time on the carpet, worksheet time at tables, etc.) ahead of time. And then, we corrected them during the activities, when perhaps they simply were going off what they knew from preschool or home. One child blurted something out in excitement during group share and was told that it was learning time and she wasn't listening. One child kept saying "Excuse me," because those are the manners he was taught at home, but he wasn't acknowledged and wasn't told until later that raising the hand is how it works in class. I love our class and the classroom management methods of our teachers. I just wonder if we could and should entrust kindergarteners to understand basic rule-setting the first couple of days.