First Day of School

I'm thinking about school starting and wondering if your memories are like mine? I remember being SO excited about starting school. My mom or my Nanny would have made me a new dress and I would have on my brand new clean Keds. Me and my two bestest friends were all going to school together. We found out we were going to all be in the same first grade class with Mrs. Smith. She was a wonderful older woman, and so sweet and grandmotherly. She gave good hugs. I remember when we went into the classroom for the first time, I felt so grown up and yet a little scared, too. Mrs. Smith smiled and asked us our names and she gathered us all up and we reluctantly let go of our mothers' hands & waived goodbye. That's a big step - letting go - the first of many for the rest of your life....

Mrs. Smith showed us where to put our lunchboxes - behind the blackboard. Did ya'll have those huge slide up blackboards like we did? They slid up kinda like a roll-up door only just to the ceiling and we put our coats, hats, satchels, & lunchboxes behind there and then Mrs. Smith would slide the blackboard back down when it was time for class. All the girls were giggly, the boys were a little quiet and got-off-with, but after a few days, of course, they'd be acting like boys again. After the tardy bell rang, Mrs. Smith asked everyone to rise and we said the pledge of allegiance for the very first time. It would take a few days for everyone to remember all the words. We gradually learned our national anthem, and then we said The Lord's Prayer. How I miss that!

Out of our satchels we pulled our school supplies - our #2 big fat pencils, our Big Chief Tablets, paste, safety scissors, and our brand new box of Crayolas. I remember that smell like it was yesterday! New Crayolas - I loved them! Of course we had the big fat ones and ONLY 8. No more! Not until we were in 3rd or 4th grade could we have the boxes of 16 or 24. My friend, Karen, I was jealous of later, cuz her mother got her a box of 64 AND it had a sharpener in the back!!!!

After practicing the terrifying and difficult task of learning to print our letters over the dotted lines, Mrs. Smith would show us some simple math and let us try some problems and later we'd practice learning some new words. Remember Dick & Jane? I know you do! I thought it was SO COOL that I could read!!!

I remember not having air conditioning (and not noticing that it bothered me until I reached Jr. High) and the push out windows being opened. We always had fans running in the class.Sometimes a bee would come in, sometimes it would rain and I can still remember the way the rain smelled, sometimes I'd catch myself staring outside daydreaming or watching another class on the playground. When it was our turn to go outside, we ran and played and came back in all sweaty smelling like little stinky dogs, hair in damp tendrils stuck on our faces and necks and dirt on our new Keds. Drinks of water from the fountain for everyone and then off to lunch! I'm pretty sure I had a Palladin lunchbox - no girly stuff for me! Palladin was my hero!

A funny story about lunchtime. My mother always made me PBJ sandwiches for lunch. That's the only kind I'd eat, with a piece of fruit, maybe some chips & a Twinkie or cupcake. And how cool was it to have your very own thermos to hold some hot soup in the wintertime! One time my mom forgot to put the PB and jelly in the sandwich and just packed the bread - nothing on it! I was so mortified when I opened my lunch that I didn't tell my friends, I just ate it without anyone knowing. I couldn't believe my mother did that to me! I know it was an accident, but when you're 6, you don't understand. I never told her I don't guess, cuz I brought it up recently at a family gathering and we were all laughing about it - Mom did not remember! I hope it didn't permanently scar me! haha -

After lunch we'd all lay our heads down on our desks and Mrs. Smith would read from a book everyday and some would doze, some would listen to the story, some would goof off and Mrs. Smith would make them stand in the corner. Believe it or not, I had to stand in the corner occasionally myself. Oops! It was hard to be quiet when your two best friends were in the same class with you! We didn't get to sit together for very long...

Come 2 o'clock when the bell rang, it was such a relief to line up at the door and get hugs from Mrs. Smith and go to the horseshoe drive to wait for our moms to pick us up. Pushing and shoving and laughing, teachers fussing for us to be quiet, books being dropped and getting elbowed with others' satchels and lunchboxes. The first day of school - I remember it just like yesterday! What were your first memories of starting school?