First Day Reflections

First of all, I'm exhausted. Every year I always forget what the first day of school is like. I think that's a good thing.

On the whole, we had a fabulous day. We read six books (two Elephant and Piggie, two Froggy, one Black Lagoon, and one David). We learned names and favorite colors. We explored crayons and pattern blocks. We played Freeze to practice the chime signal for attention. We ate snack and lunch and played on the playground. We went to art class. For first graders everyone was pretty focused and respectful. (If you want to know more, check out exploreorrs.terracetimes.com.)

The day ended, my daughters arrived in my classroom, and I began the process of wrapping up my day. Then I heard my name on the intercom. I had sent one of my students on the wrong bus. Not only one of my students, but the worst possible student for such a challenge. Trust me when I say that this is the child least able to self-advocate.

To make it worse, somewhere along the wrong bus route this child got off the bus. All three administrators and several office staff worked so hard to figure out what happened. We immediately started calling the other children in my class who ride that bus. We prepared to drive both the wrong and right bus routes to look for this child. In the midst of this, the mother called to say that my little darling had made it home. The relief...

It's still not clear how this kiddo got home. I'll be curious to see what I can learn tomorrow. But I'll also be sure everyone gets home the correct way in the future.

The parts of my job that wear me out the most are rarely about instruction and content. They're about kids.


In my defense, I sent this child home on the bus I know this child rode last year. This child has not moved. Our bus routes do change and I somehow missed this one.