Rebecca Goes to First Grade

Rebecca back to school

I just put Rebecca on the school bus, bound for her first day of first grade. No hesitation, she didn't look back once as she ran across the street, towing a huge bag of school supplies to a bus filled with kids who looked way to old to be going to the same place as my little first grader. That's it - she's on her own from 8:30 AM until 4:00 PM. I hope she loves every minute of it, finds joy in learning, makes lots of friends, and doesn't lose her lunch money. We've tried to hammer home those important lessons - work hard and you can do anything, and don't forget to flush!

Enough nostalgia. Time to rant. Since when did the list of required school supplies grow to include 2 boxes of crayons, 10 no. 2 pencils, 1 box of colored pencils, 1 box of fat colored markers, 1 box of thin colored markers, 1 bottle of Elmer's rubber cement, 2 glue sticks, 2 rolls of paper towels, 2 containers of Clorox antibacterial wipes, a box of sandwich bags, and a box of tissues? The poor kid was so laden with stuff, she could barely climb the bus stairs. Ah, the good old days, when everything you needed fit neatly inside your plastic pencil case. Seriously, why do we need all this stuff? I know the school budget, like everyone's budget, is extremely tight. But does each kid really need their own crayons, colored pencils, 2 different types of markers, and 2 different kinds of glue? Greg and I are trying to reduce household consumption of unnecessary and unsustainable stuff, but the pre-school shopping spree felt like a giant step backwards. In addition, we packed 2 healthy, peanut free snacks. Many parents search high and low for the elusive healthy, peanut free snack. In my opinion, the popular "fruit gummies" are too laden with high fructose corn syrup, artificial colors, artificial flavors, and chemicals I can't pronounce to count as "healthy". Here's an easy tip: pack fruit. We packed a container of blackberries and a banana. Her backpack was pretty full at this point, so I sent her with $2.25 to buy the school lunch (shudder). I've heard all kinds of horror stories about toxic school lunches, but this was something she really wanted to try (it's her first time in the cafeteria). For now, we've agreed she can buy lunch one day per week, and the rest of the week I'll try to compensate by packing healthy, organic food. Life's a compromise, right?

Enough about my feelings. Today is her day. She is a bright, energetic and determined little girl, and I hope she has a fabulous experience. The house seems too quiet without her as I prepare to start my own work day. I can't wait to hear all about it this afternoon when the bus returns my precious child to me.