Children are happy, grown-ups sad at kindergarten start
September 8, 2010
By Sebastian Moraga
Kindergarten teacher Calla Kinghorn leads her class on a cheer during the first day of school at Cascade View Elementary School on Sept. 3. By Sebastian Moraga
The smile on Laura Clark’s face was big, if not entirely joyful.
“I’m trying to put on a brave face for my little girl,” she said Sept. 3 at Cascade View Elementary in Snoqualmie. “I didn’t want to squash her enthusiasm.”
This was, after all, the first day of kindergarten for Haley, Clark’s oldest child.
The children seemed far less emotional than the parents.
“He got right out of bed this morning,” Lisa Freitas said of her son, the youngest of four. “He is not happy we made him wear a button-down shirt, but he’s excited to ride the bus home.”
Keller Keene refused to hold his mom’s hand on the last block of the walk to Cascade View. He was in kindergarten now, a big boy.
Then, when they approached the main doors, he sought Mom’s hand again.
“He must be getting a little nervous,” Lisa Keene said.
Clark and other parents commiserated while hanging out by Boo-Hoo Coffee, the aptly named coffee stand the school’s PTSA organized for parents on their children’s first-ever day of class.
Not all parents were sad.
“I’m not boo-hooing, I’m yahooing,” said Lu Edwards, a parent and a volunteer at the coffee stand. “This is my third girl going through kindergarten. We took pictures at breakfast, outside of the house, outside of the school. She’s really excited.”
Indi, Edwards’ youngest, had reason to be. And it had nothing to do with new schoolmates, new teachers or a new classroom.
“She gets to go to Chuck E. Cheese,” Lu said. “She wanted to go to bed early so she could go to Chuck E. Cheese with her friends.”
But first, she had to make it through the first of more than 2,000 days she will spend in a classroom over the next 13 years.
When the voice over the loudspeaker finished his bulletin with “…and it’s a great day to be a…” the older children in the school yelled “…cub!” The kindergartners just shared a confused look.
“Did you hear the other kids yell ‘cub’? That’s what we’ll yell next time we hear that,” teacher Calla Kinghorn told her new students. She then led them through a cheer.
Up the hall from Kinghorn’s class stood Clark, not looking forward to returning to an emptier house, but excited about her daughter’s new chapter in life. Haley was about to make some new friends, she said.
“I’m excited about her new adventure and that makes me happy,” Laura said with a laugh. “Then, I’ll go cry in my bedroom.”
Sebastian Moraga: 392-6434, ext.221, or smoraga@snovalleystar.com.
Comments
Got something to say?
Before you comment, please note:
- These comments are moderated.
- Comments should be relevant to the topic at hand and contribute to its discussion.
- Personal attacks and/or excessive profanity will not be tolerated and such comments will not be approved.
- This is not your personal chat room or forum, so please stay on topic.
