Brandon's First Day

It was a bright September morning. The sun was shining and the birds were singing. It was the first day of school for Brandon. He was in First Grade this year!

“Brandon. Brandon! It’s time to get up! It’s your first day of school today!” Brandon’s mommy shook him gently.

Brandon got out of bed and got dressed in his new red shirt and his new jeans. He was proud of his red shirt. It was just like the ones that the grownup men wore. It had short sleeves, a collar, and three buttons at the collar. His jeans were just like the ones he had always worn, but just a bit bigger, because he had grown so much over the summer.

He pulled on his sneakers and tied them himself. Brandon had learned to tie his own shoes over the summer too! Mommy had helped him over and over and over again so that he would be a big boy this year.

Brandon picked up the backpack he and Mommy had so carefully packed the night before. He carried it into the kitchen where he climbed into a chair at the table. Mommy was carrying him a plate of scrambled eggs, his favorite! Today there were some pieces of bacon and some toast, too.

“Oh, Mommy! This looks really yummy!” Brandon cried. “Thank you for making my breakfast!”
“You’re welcome, son. Now eat up; we will have to leave soon to get you to school on time.” Mommy replied with a smile.

When Brandon finished eating, Mommy took his plate to the sink and said, “Brandon, go on and brush your teeth. When you are through, we will be leaving for school.”

Brandon hurried into the bathroom and scrubbed his teeth, thinking to himself, “I wonder what I will learn today! I wonder who will be in my class this year! I wonder if my teacher will be nice!”

Once he had finished in the bathroom, Brandon bounded back into the kitchen and yelled, “I’m ready, Mommy! Let’s go!”

Mommy pulled up in front of the school and the crossing guard opened the car door. "Well, hello there, son! How are you this fine day?" the crossing guard asked. "I'm GREAT!" exclaimed Brandon. "It's the first day of first grade!"

"Ah, how exciting for you!" said the crossing guard as Brandon hopped out of the car. "Bye, Mommy!" yelled Brandon as he ran towards the front doors of the elementary school. "Bye, Brandon! Have a wonderful day!" called Mommy after him.

As Brandon walked through the halls of his school, he noticed several other children walking the same direction he was. "Hi, there!" he said to a black boy. "Hi! My name is Alex! What's your name?" "My name is Brandon. Are you in first grade too?" Brandon replied.

"Yes, and I can't wait!" exclaimed Alex. "Hey, want to play together at recess?"

"Sure! Oh, look! There's the classroom!" Brandon said as he started off towards the classroom door.

As everyone walked into the room and found a desk, the woman at the front of the room started to speak. "Hello, everyone. My name is Miss Smith, and I am so glad to have all of you in my first grade class this year. I think we will be having lots of fun!"

Brandon's face broke into a smile when he heard the word "fun". He couldn't wait to get started!

"First, we will start with some reading, then work on some math, and then we will have some play time outside. Is everybody ready?" Miss Smith asked.

"Yes!" answered the class excitedly. "All right then, let's all look at the chalkboard and get started," said Miss Smith as she turned around to point at the words on the chalkboard.

After some reading and some addition problems for math, Miss Smith announced that it was time for recess. All of the children were ready for a break and lined up at the door.

Once outside, Brandon found his new friend Alex and they decided to play on the swing set. The swings were in the middle of the schoolyard, so off they went.

After recess, Miss Smith talked to the class about how to stay healthy. "Brushing your teeth will keep them stronger and will keep your whole mouth healthier," Miss Smith instructed. Brandon knew that and always made sure to brush his teeth.

Lunchtime came soon after. Brandon was carrying his brand-new lunchbox. His mommy had packed him a sandwich and some potato chips. After looking more carefully at the items he pulled out of the lunchbox, he saw that Mommy had also added a chocolate chip cookie, his favorite! Oh, this was turning out to be an even better day than he had thought!

After lunch, the children settled down for story time. Miss Smith taught the children some nursery rhymes. Brandon finally learned his first nursery rhyme... Humpty Dumpty! "Oh, I can't wait to tell Mommy what I've learned today!" Brandon was so proud of himself.

After story time, Miss Smith said that it was time to rest for a bit. She passed out paper and crayons and asked the children to draw a picture of what they thought Humpty Dumpty looked like. All of the children were happy to have a bit of a rest, and drew their pictures quietly. Brandon worked on his drawing very carefully, and Miss Smith stopped by his desk. As she bent down to see what he had done, she said, "Brandon, that's very good. I would like to put your picture on the bulletin board in the back of the room. Would you like to help me?" Brandon jumped at the chance to have his picture hanging up in the teacher's room. "Oh, yes, Miss Smith! Please let me help!" Soon all of the children's pictures were hanging on the bulletin board.

Miss Smith announced then that it was almost time to go home. "Children, your Mommies and Daddies will be here very soon to pick you up. Please start gathering your things. We will be walking down to the front doors shortly."

Brandon pulled his backpack out from under his chair, and pulled it onto his shoulders. What a great first day he had! He walked up to the front of the room and joined the line at the door. Miss Smith opened the classroom door and walked slowly down the hallway towards the front doors.

When Brandon reached the door leading outside, he saw his Mommy standing off to the side. "Mommy, Mommy!" he called. "Here I am!" Mommy smiled and said, "Hello, Brandon! I am so glad to see you! How was your first day?"

"Oh, Mommy, it was so much fun! I can't wait to come back tomorrow!" Brandon answered as he ran off towards the car. "We learned a nursery rhyme and how to add and everything!"

Mommy smiled and patted him on the back. "You can tell me all about it when we get home. I would love to hear everything."

When Brandon and Mommy got home, she fixed him a snack and let him watch his favorite cartoon on TV. After the cartoon ended, Brandon went outside to play while Mommy cooked dinner. During dinner, Brandon told Mommy all about what they had done at school. "We added! I know what 1+1 equals, Mommy! It's 2! And, I learned Humpty Dumpty, and made a new friend, Alex! I colored a picture of Humpty Dumpty and Miss Smith hung it on her bulletin board!" Mommy told Brandon how much she enjoyed hearing about his day while she cleaned up the dinner dishes. "Brandon, I think you had a wonderful, busy day. You've learned a lot and you have more to learn tomorrow, so I think we should get you into a bath. Then you can get into your pajamas, and you can tell me your nursery rhyme about Humpty Dumpty while I am tucking you into bed."

Brandon went into his room and collected his pajamas. After his bath, he remembered to brush his teeth, just like Miss Smith told the class today. Brandon was surprised to find that he really was sleepy. Mommy came in shortly and tucked him in while he repeated the nursery rhyme he had learned. After the rhyme was over, Mommy leaned down to kiss Brandon goodnight. Brandon hugged Mommy and said, "I love you, Mommy. Thanks for taking me to school today!"

Mommy hugged him back and said, "I love you too, Brandon. You are very welcome. Now, let's get some sleep so you can get up and do it all over again tomorrow. There are lots more things for you to learn."

Brandon yawned and closed his eyes. He had one last thought before drifting off to sleep... he loved his first day!