Wednesday, September 8th, 2010...12:02 PM
First Day Of School
It is September. It is time for the first day of school.
I love Summer, but it was always nice to go back to school after Labor Day. Today we started the new school year in our family. Everyone was ready to go early and happy. Just as we are ready to leave the house though a late Summer thunder storm unleashed a torrential rain. It was kind of like Summer going out with a bang…or as my son said…”maybe trying to keep us from starting the new school year.” Maybe so. We learned not to fool with Mother Nature in our household.
It was great for all of us to go back today to reconnect with old friends and meet some new ones too. Parents and children. We all made it through…happily! Albeit a little wet as it started.
First days of school can be a big deal. I will never forget my first day of first grade. I can remember it as if it was yesterday. Out of the house with my new pants, shirt and shoes. Dropped off and out on the playground before school. Playing some sort of game I had a big slip on the sand and down on the blacktop. Two holes in the knees of my new pants. Shoes all scunned up. Palms of my hands cut up. There I was being carried into the health suite by two six grade girls and school had not even begun yet. Maybe Summer was tugging at me that day like it was all of us today?
I still love the Summer and wish it were longer in New England. When the end of August rolls around though perhaps I am programmed…but it is nice to look forward to the upcoming Fall and getting back to basics. It has always been that way for me. This year is no different.
What are your “back to school” memories? Do you carry that “back to school” attitude with you as an adult?
10 Comments
September 8th, 2010 at 12:40 PM
I, too, love this time of year. Crisp air, new clothes, and the beautiful September sky. My most vivid first day of school memories weren’t of the school day itself, but rather what happened when I got home. Every year, my Mom would take the first day of school off from work, greet me at the bus, and she would have delicious snacks (usually from the Hostess store!) waiting on the table. We’d sit, and talk all about that big first day. I don’t have a clue what we talked about, or for how long…but I always remember that day being extra-special. Great memories!
September 8th, 2010 at 2:26 PM
I just recently shared this back to school memory with my children and I am determined to find old episodes of Family Affair so that they too can enjoy quality television. I was heading into first grade and had my new plaid jumper, hair in tight pony tails and new school shoes with thick rubber soles. Butterflies in the tummy, I jumped out of our car carrying my Family Affair lunch box, tripped on the curb and fell hard landing on Buffy and Jody. Well, that took care of my thermos lunch – because in those days if you dropped your thermos it cracked into a million shards of glass rendering your soup, spaghetti o’s, or chef boyardee inedible. I was ecorted into the building shaken, embarrassed and in fear of having to eat “school lunch”.
Now that I am a mom the first day of school means a fresh start to the academic year and a reluctant good bye to the hazy, lazy,crazy days of summer.
September 8th, 2010 at 2:45 PM
Oooh – I recall the fabulous new Strawberry Shortcake lunchbox! I also loved getting all the new supplies for school – the Trapper Keeper, pens, pencils. Those were the days…
September 8th, 2010 at 5:54 PM
Karin Wester on Facebook:
Teaching Kindergarten I always have funny and sweet memories. I think my favorite this year so far is when I pulled out my first big book to read the whole class went “OOHHH” They were so excited! Another classic was a little girl raised her hand and asked me ” Miss Wester can I blow out my bubble in my mouth? My cheeks are getting tired”. I just smiled and said Of course!!!
September 8th, 2010 at 6:07 PM
One of the many great things about teaching is we perpetually get to relive so many of our childhood milestones (though the perspective has changed). Of course, I love graduation; the joy and excitement of finishing one chapter and moving on to another. And who but high school teachers get to attend prom over and over again! The first day of school also continues to be a favorite. The nervous excitement and butterflies in my stomach occur each year! I rarely sleep well the night before and worry who will be in classes and how well we will get along. And while I briefly mourn the lost days of summer, I find a certain contentment in getting back into the routine.
September 8th, 2010 at 7:01 PM
I remember my first day of second grade like it was yesterday. A new school looming just a block away from my new house sucking me in while I was wishing I was back with my old friends. I’m not a big fan of beginnings. Wearing a brown plaid dress with a big white sailor collar and new leather shoes I tried to dodge the puddles of freshly fallen rain. The smell of the warm wet pavement lingered in my nose. My stomach was lurching at the prospect of going into a place I’d never entered before – What if I couldn’t find my classroom? What if I got lost? I don’t remember who the angel was on that first day, but a wonderful, motherly woman who smelled like roses took my hand and brought me into the cafetorium and led me to the line where I would anxiously wait with the other students to be picked up by our new teacher.
I now teach at this same school. So much of it is the same on the first day; the coffee beige color on the walls , the shiny glare of the freshly waxed floors reminding me of the lake I’ve boated on all summer, the nervous electricity of new parents and students, and my stomach still lurching. Yes, it’s all the same. Happy New Year!
September 8th, 2010 at 9:40 PM
For me, ‘back to school’ rings familiar with ‘back to routine’… and saying goodbye to the carefree days of summer. One thing I particularly appreciate is that our sau weans us into the school year by starting the kids the Wednesday before Labor Day… you get a three day week…then a four day week and then you enter into the five day school week. I love this! We gently ease into the structured routine of making sure the homework is packed, which day to bring the sneakers and when not to forget the library book. It is a time of big decisions for a 4th grader… is he going to add the trumpet this year along with the viola, run for student council and he has already signed up for the running club.
Indeed it is a special time and holds special memories. I remember my mother picking flowers for me to bring to Mrs. LeBlanc on the first day of 1st grade. Standing on the blacktop, feeling ready and eager and having a freckled faced boy with two front teeth missing run up to me, take one big, dramatic whiff of the flowers and announce for all to hear: “OH, THOSE STINK!!” I was mortified. I learned later that was Eric Salmu and I ended up having a huge crush on him in high school. Great to think back on this day…. thanks for the nice blog post Jeff.
September 9th, 2010 at 7:55 AM
Facebook Comment from Colleen Cummings Hirons:
Still remember the orange/gold checkered dress with the white collar I wore the 1st day of 3rd grade. Loved the new clothes for school, and even now, as a teacher, still do!
September 9th, 2010 at 7:56 AM
Facebook comment from Michelle Reynolds Perry:
Jeff, you’re making me relive scarring memories of the bus driver not dropping me off on my first day. I was too shy to tell him I was still on the bus so it was a good long ride.
September 9th, 2010 at 7:57 AM
Facebook Comment From Maureen Normille Bennett:
I have a first day every September with a new group of students..how lucky am I? I have just as many butterflies sitting on the other side of the desk!
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