Teaching Tales

The First Day

A kindergarten teacher, and the first day of school.

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The First Day

         "I won't leave my rubber duckie. I won't," little Willie cried."

         "It's okay if Willie has it at school today since it's the first day," said Mrs. Carlyle, the teacher.

         Willie's mother glared at her. "A rubber duckie does not belong at school."

         Willie glanced from his mother to the teacher and back again. Then he burst into tears. The other kindergarteners stared at Willie and the teacher. One by one, all the brand new kindergarteners began to sob. "I want my mommy," they wailed.

         Mrs. Carlyle, reached out and grabbed the duckie. "The duckie will be Willie's share today. Thank you, Mrs. Jones. It is time for class to begin.

         The children put their thumbs in their mouths and quieted.

         "Now then," Mrs. Carlyle said when she returned to the circle rug. "I think we are ready to begin."

         She plopped Willie's duckie down on the sharing table and picked up her roll book. "Carlos Barron? Carlos Barron?" No one answered. She went on. Susie Buster?" She looked out at the tiny faces surrounding her. "Susie Buster?"

         The thumb-sucking faces all stared back at her. Mrs. Carlyle went on to the next name and the next. None of the children raised their hands when she called out any of the names.

         Mrs. Carlyle stopped and sighed. "Who are you?" she asked a little boy in the front row.

         The thumb came out of his mouth with a pop. "Hernando."

         Mrs. Carlyle scanned the list. No Hernando, but Carlos's middle name was Hernando.

         "Could you be Carlos Barron?" Mrs. Carlyle asked. The little boy stuck his finger back into his mouth. Tears bubbled in the corners of his eyes.

         "What is your last name, Carlos?"

         Carlos answered. "Carloshernandoernestosalvadorbarronvaldez.

         Mrs. Carlyle sighed again and checked off Carlos' name.

         When the attendance was finally taken and each child was matched to a name, Mrs. Carlyle read the children The Gingerbread Man . Tina began to cry when a bear wanted to eat the cookie man. Sandra joined in when the dog tried to take a bite from him. Mrs. Carlyle did not finish the story. She put the book down and said, "And the gingerbread man lived happily ever after." The children smiled.

         After recess, Mrs. Carlyle taught the children how to glue a red circle on their piece of paper to make a stop sign. Donny put three stop signs on his paper. He said he wanted everyone to see that you were supposed to stop because his father got a ticket when he didn't see one. Donny told everyone about the policeman stopping his father and how the big lights flashed and how there was lots of loud noise. Mrs. Carlyle decided to have singing group.

         The children learned "Mary Had a Little Lamb." None of the children knew what a lamb was. When Mrs. Carlyle told them that "fleece was the name of a sheep's hair, Juan Martín started laughing. Later when the children drew picture's of Mary's lamb. Juan Martín put long black hair on his sheep.

         "Did you forget that the lamb had fleece as white as snow?" Mrs. Carlyle asked him.

         Juan Martín started laughing again. "Maestra," he said, using the Spanish word for teacher. "White sheep are fantasmas (ghosts).

         Mrs. Carlyle wisely moved on. Sarah colored her sheep purple. "It's my favorite color, Mrs. Carlyle," Sarah giggled.

         Tina colored her sheep with polka-dots. "My brother has the chicken pox," Tina explained.

         Mrs. Carlyle did not ask Billy why his sheep had antennae. She sat down and waited for the children to finish.

         The children put their pictures into their cubbies and got their lunches. They sat at their desks to eat. Mrs. Carlyle ate an apple. Some of the children crowded round her. "May I have a bite?" asked little Timmy. The teacher explained to Timmy that he was supposed to eat his own lunch. Timmy began to cry. "I don't like my lunch. I want an apple." Timmy rolled on the floor, turned bright purple, and pounded the ground a couple of times. The other children watched. Mrs. Carlyle finished her apple and started on her sandwich.

         "What kind of sandwich do you have?" Tina wanted to know. She put her peanut butter and jelly smeared fingers on Mrs. Carlyle's new white blouse. The teacher sighed and told Tina to go sit down. Tina cried. "I want to go home. Nobody likes me!

         After recess the children lay down for naps. Billy said he could only sleep upside down since he was a bat. Mrs. Carlyle let him put his legs on a chair and his head on the floor. Carlos Hernando snored and made the other children giggle. Juan Martín threw up and told Mrs. Carlyle that he shouldn't have drunk the lunch milk since he was allergic to milk.

         During naptime Mrs. Carlyle almost fell asleep herself, when the phone rang. It was the principal. "Did the children take naps?" the principal wanted to know.

         Mrs. Carlyle looked around at the thirty children sitting up staring at the phone. "Yes, Mrs. Jones. The children took naps."

         The class went out for PE. No one could throw a ball. No one could even bounce the ball. Susie fell down. She cried hard when her knee had only a speck of blood on it. Mrs. Carlyle put a bandage on the "booboo".

         Then the children lined up to go home. Thirty lunch pails were sorted, twenty-five coats were placed on their owners. Carlos Hernando was missing. They found him asleep under a table.

         Mrs. Carlyle said goodbye to everyone. Then she sat down and cried because she was so tired and so happy the first day of school was over. After she drank her milk, ate a graham cracker and read a story, Mrs. Carlyle felt much better. She got up and went to plan for the second day of school.


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