School Smiles

It's time for the traditional back-to-school pics, and I'm jumping on the hold-your-grade bandwagon.  (It's genius!)  While there are times I really love a posed piece of art, there are other times that the forced front-of-house pictures capture the real emotions of the day.

For D, the awaited day meant his very own backpack, a few pair of jeans with no holes in the knees, and a walk around the corner to Mrs. Shayla's Preschool.  His picture capture his general attitude toward the whole idea of school - confusion mixed with general apathy.  He dutifully does what is asked, but without the prior experience of days with friends and tootsie rolls, he has no idea of the fun ahead.

For Al, it meant getting up far earlier than he is accustomed.  For a kid who carries out leisurely morning stretches (yeah, he does that) and suffers from bouts of insomnia (found him on the couch this morning), 8:00 a.m. school is a big deal.  I got him up at 6:30 today, but unfortunately for this kid who can lose focus between syllables, getting ready for the day in a linear fashion is out of the question.  Tomorrow, we'll try 6:20 and see if that allows plenty of time for the occasional foray into Alexland.  Thankfully, by 7:15, he proclaimed himself "not tired anymore," and I caught him mid "I-know-I'm-cute" before rushing off to school.

For Adam, it meant just another day.  He's done it before, he knows the ropes, and he knew the faster I got the picture I wanted, the faster he could resume with life.  He was happy to explain all the full-day-of-school procedures to Alex, and one of my best moments of the day was hearing about his recess time while I was in the teacher lunch room.  Apparently, he spent all of morning recess playing with Alex and proudly telling his friends that his brother is in first grade now.

For me, it meant uncertainty.  My anxiety forced its way into my dreams last night as I dreamed three different scenarios which resulted in us being late on the first day (we were not), one in which my co-teacher erased the initial assignment I'd written on the board last night replacing it with her own (she did not), and one in which my mother told me I might as well withdraw Adam and Alex from NPA right now if I wasn't willing to focus more on their penmanship (um... ??).  But what started as uncertainty faded quickly away as my students filed into the classroom, placing in me the same exact trust as they'd place in any other teacher, replaced with a quiet assuredness.  I've got this!

Even Kirk is in on the back to school theme, since he kept busy today teaching a training class for new hires in his office.  I should have taken a picture of him on his first day of "class" (even though it wasn't today).  It's been fun to hear his stories of successes in his own classroom, especially since he used to dream of being a math teacher.

Day one has come and gone (day 3 for D), and although I haven't gotten to check in with the kids yet, I'm betting everyone is all smiles.  Don't let D fool you... this is his smile.