Elise Molloy, First Grader

Entering first grade was more of an adventure for our little girl than it is for some in other school districts.  Because she attended a kindergarten-only school last year and it was only a half day program, first grade meant another year of a lot of change.  She got not just a new teacher,  but a whole new school and a full school day for the first time.  And of course as fate would have it, literally every friend she made in kindergarten went to a different neighborhood elementary school.  So all new friends too.

About a week before the official start of school we took Elise in for a first grade orientation and we got a chance to meet her new teacher (Mrs. Valentine) her table mates (Ally, Gabriel and Falls) and the rest of her classmates (an alarming number of children whose names start with S - seriously about half of the class! It makes keeping up with first grade gossip very complicated for her parents).  We also got to meet the school's new principal and check out the cafeteria, gym and library.  Marty and I felt like she was in capable hands and the orientation definitely made Elise feel more comfortable with the idea of first grade.

We live only a few blocks from her new school, so on the first day of school, the whole family walked her there.  There were hundreds of kids lined up outside by grade and teacher, and while it was all very organized it felt chaotic in the middle of all of these kids - some really hyper, some crying - and parents - some really hyper, some crying - packed in the school yard, greeting each other after the long summer, taking pictures, hugging, shouting, laughing.  I actually thought the whole thing was a little overwhelming, but Elise didn't seem to be phased by it.  She just stood there in line, soaking it all in, smiling at us every once in a while (maybe to reassure us, maybe to reassure herself).

The bell rang and Elise waved and followed her class into the building and I watched her giant pink camouflage backpack make its way inside.

And just like that, we had ourselves a first grader.