Zoe, First Grader

Imagine, my baby is a first-grader! And she is pleased as punch about it, mostly because at her school first-graders get to start wearing the jumper. She hated her kindergarten uniform of shorts and shirt. That was a hard adjustment for the little girl who insisted on wearing a dress EVERY DAY from the time she was 3! Is there anything any cuter than a little girl in a plaid jumper?!

Today was the first “official” day of school, but all that was required was that students show up in uniform at 5 p.m. to meet the teacher. Tomorrow is the real first day, and even that is a half day. So is Friday, Monday and Tuesday. It’ll be a week before the school day will resemble the days to come for the rest of the year. I think it’s a good thing the kids had a chance to see their new classrooms and teachers in advance – Zoe was really nervous about all these new things. As we were getting ready at home, I heard Zoe mumbling something and asked her what she’d said. She repeated it, “I said, ‘Just don’t cry.’” We talked about what was scaring her, and mostly it was that no one would remember her. Well, everyone remembered her and made a big fuss over her, so that helped a lot.

Zoe was excited about her homeroom teacher – Zoe was in kindergarten, but she went to first grade for reading, so she spent part of the day with Ms. Pastusek last year. And Ms. Pastusek’s class is the Pandas!

How’s that for a touch of fate?!

Zoe spent a lot of time checking out the other first grade classrooms, too, looking for some of her kindergarten friends. She was delighted to see Lainie, Sydney, Kennedy, Elizabeth, the other Sydney, Deborah, and lots of other little friends. They ALL remembered her, of course!
She sat still for only the nanosecond it took me to take a picture of her at her new desk – that’s another first grade advance, first graders get their own desks.

Zoe has a couple of other transitions coming up, too. She has two “wiggly teeth” with one just about ready to fall out – this will be her first! And, when we got her eyes checked on Monday, it turned out that she needs glasses. It’ll be a week before they come in, though. She looks adorable in them, and is not unhappy at all about the glasses. One of her best friends wears glasses, and Zoe has actually wanted glasses since I got mine a year ago. In fact, if there was some way to throw the eye exam, she would have done it. But with kids they dilate the eyes to relax the muscles so they can’t cheat!

So, a busy month – moving back to the States, losing a tooth, getting glasses, and starting first grade. And my amazing Zoe is handling it all just fine – a few jitters, but all in all just fine!