Wanderings of the Mind - Second Grade Stories

She's been looking forward to it for a long time, and today it happened.  Gwen had her first day of Second Grade.

The morning started out a bit frantic.  She woke up early, obviously excited to meet her new teacher, see her new classroom, find out who her new classmates are, and begin Second Grade.  She got out her new backpack, took her new lunchbox, and put on her new shoes with laces.

We were running a little later than we wanted, but had a bunch of things to do.  The school area was crazy, and we had to park a couple of blocks away.  It didn't take long to walk over, and first we did a quick stop in the before-and-after-school room, as she is in that program for the first time this year.  She's been upset that she has to go, but was happy to see the room, and was looking forward to going after school.

Then, we went to her room just a few minutes before the day began.  She met her teacher, found her desk, and turned in the baggie full of Boxtops for Education that we've saved up -- $14 worth.  We got a chance to see her classroom, and to let her teacher know that Gwen will be out for 7 days starting next Wednesday when we go to Pennsylvania.  We'll be getting Gwen in Independent Study for the duration so she won't fall behind and won't even be counted as absent.

After leaving the class, we remembered that the PTA was running a first day of school doughnut and coffee gathering.  I can't resist pastries in the morning, so we stopped in.  The PTA president joked with me that it seems like we've seen each other every day over the summer, between our kids being in the same swimming class and camp, and the summer planning meetings for the Fall Harvest Carnival.  We didn't stay long, and headed to work.

The drive home was hectic, as traffic was horrid.  We made it in to pick Gwen up just a couple of minutes to 6, which is closing time.  Gwen was the only one there, and I was afraid that she'd be lonely or upset.  On the contrary, she was playing Mancala with the leader, and declared that she loves the game and the program.  She had artwork up on the wall already, and had a good time.

It sounds like she had a great day.  They did refresher exercises, she's allowed to bring a snack to eat mid-morning, she likes her teacher and classmates, she played some good games, met and likes the new principal, and got the school year off to a good start.

I'm so proud of her, but I can't believe how old she's getting, and how big she's growing.  I clearly remember lots of teachers, friends, and activities from when I was in second grade.  My daughter can't be old enough to be going through those experiences for herself!