First Day Jitters

Zach and I had our first day of school today. To him, it was no big deal, but I was worried about him getting in trouble. After all, he DID call 911 last night!

We arrived at school at 7:25, and had to wait for the doors to open at 7:30. His teacher was running a little late, and when she got there, I took a picture of her with Zach. We found his seat, and he sat down and started looking through his pencil box at his new supplies. Darren and I kissed him, and he nonchalantly told us bye. I managed to wait until we left the building to start crying, which was a feat! He just looked so little sitting at that table, and kindergarten is so final! Up until now, he didn't have to go to school (not that I had a choice to work or not), but now, he has to be there for many years.

Anyway, I left Zach's school and drove to mine to get ready for MY first day. It was a typical first day; we collected supplies, set up binders, learned how to open lockers, passed out paperwork, took a tour of the school, and had 40 minutes in the gym with the fine arts teachers this afternoon. I seem to have a really good group of students this year, and I even have a deaf student and interpreter in my class for part of the day. The other students are really excited about learning sign language, and it will be good for them to be exposed to her.

It was a long day, not sitting down, not pausing in talking to the class. There are so many things to go over with dress code and procedures. Dismissal always takes a long time on the first day of school. The buses go to the elementary campuses first, then pick our kids up. So, they are always late on the first day, because there is usually a situation where a kindergarten student forgets where they live, and the bus has to drive them home. We were out by 4:30 today, which wasn't too bad. I don't think we have bus duty this year, which is odd. No one has mentioned it, and we didn't get a schedule for it. I'm not going to mention anything!

I was so eager to talk to Zach to find out how his day went. I didn't have time to think about him until after school, and couldn't wait to get to his school. He didn't want to leave when I got there; he was looking at one of his shoes under a microscope. Once we got in the car, and I asked him how his day went, he only wanted to talk about Mr. Robert, who is his YMCA after-school teacher. I kept asking him about his kindergarten teacher, and he was really confused about who his teacher is. I'm glad he likes the after-school program; he's been at the same daycare since before his first birthday, and I was worried about how he would handle the change.

When we got home, Zach finally opened up about his day. He told me that his teacher wanted them to go home and tell their parents they had a FABULOUS day. He also volunteered information about dancing in the classroom, and the teacher reading a book to him that I read last night. Besides that, I didn't get too much out of him. He said he liked it, and can't wait to go back tomorrow.

Tonight, I have to write student names on desk name tags, their conduct sheets, and cards for their classroom jobs. I get all four classes tomorrow, and hopefully textbooks. 179 more days to go!