Today, the school year started for the first of our grandchildren — Locke is the first back to school this year, the others will follow over the next few days.
This is big deal for Locke — he’s in first grade! We talked to him a few minutes yesterday and he seemed excited — at least as excited as six year olds get about things they’re not sure what they’re getting into.
I think Dave took Lock to school this morning and he indicated that things seemed to go pretty well. It’s probably not surprising that I don’t remember my first day in first grade, but I remember a bit about our kids’ first day. Lots of anxiety for everyone.
Even thought it’s exciting, it must be tough for kids…. they have to crawl out of a comfort zone that they have been living in all summer — actually their whole life. They have to listen to the teacher all day and focus on subjects that might be new to them and they might not care about…. and learn the “rules.”
I’m no expert on the subject, but I think the start of school might be better if there wasn’t so much emphasis on rules…. sure the kids have to learn school rules and regulations, but how about taking the first day or two and focus on getting the kids excited about learning. I don’t think introducing the rules slowly over the first week or two would create chaos — most kids today have enough basic understanding of social norms to be manageable for the first few days of adjustment.
But anyhow, I’ve gotten off the subject. The subject is Locke — our first grandson and his first day in first grade. I’m pretty sure Locke is going to have lots of firsts in his life…. who knows, he may even be the first President born at INOVA Fairfax.
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