Ben's First Day of Kindergarten (AKA Green Pear vs. Yellow Pear)

All dressed for success in his Marvel Comics t-shirt and X-wing fighter backpack, Ben embarked on his first day of the public school system...Kindergarten!  He had met his teacher the week before during his assesment and liked her right away.  He reported to me, "Mom, she was NICE!"  I think it also helped that she is young and pretty.  He got even more excited about starting school when he found out that SHE would be his teacher!

Scott went in late that morning so we could all escort Ben to school and I'm glad he did because the school was a mad house.  Ben almost didn't make it past the parking lot because I almost got him ran over by a crazy car.  After a few pictures, Ben marched right in.  Because of the crowds, I stood in the back of the classroom and snapped a few pictures between all the parents' heads.  I was so proud of him and he seemed so grown up.  I couldn't help getting emotional but was happy to see that he was happy to be there.  I blew him a kiss from the back of the crowd and said goodbye.

This is my friend Angie, who was in MY Kindergarten class, and her little girl who happens to be in the same class as Ben.  The circle of life...

An awesome backpack is something to smile about!

Getting name tags...of course, my kid is in the back row.

I came a little early to pick up Ben and I was talking to my friend Angie when Ben wandered up and stood by me.  I gave him a hug and kiss and asked him how his day was and he look kind of sad and just said, "fine..."  After five minutes or so, I noticed that Ben was the only kid outside of the classroom.  I asked him if his teacher told him he could go or if he just got up and walked out.  He said he just walked out.  I told him to go back inside and wait until she said he could go. I guess he was just done.   I chalked him leaving early and acting sad to the fact that it was so darn hot that day.

When Ben was finally officially dismissed, his teacher came to me to tell me that Ben had homework because there was something that he wouldn't color in class.  She said he wanted to color something green, not yellow. I said, "okay, no problem."  I asked her if he was okay and why he walked out early and if she was aware of that.  She just said she was aware and that yes, it was really hot in the classroom and it was kind of crazy with all the parents around.

After talking to his teacher, I found Ben sitting on a bench looking sad.  I asked him what was wrong and he just burst into tears saying that he wanted to color his pear green but the teacher said it had to be yellow.  Well, I couldn't help it, it was such a sad and heartfelt display of emotion from my innocent Kindergartener that I couldn't stop my tears from welling up.  My friend came by and asked what was wrong and SHE got tears in her eyes.  

My mother hen feathers were ruffled (Did it really matter on the first day of school what color the pear was?!).  First, I told Ben that I liked green pears better too.  (We eat the green pears at our house because by the time the are yellow they are gross and mushy!)  Then, I told him that when he was at home, he could color his art any way that he wanted, but in school, he had to learn to follow the directions of his teacher.  I explained to Ben that his teacher was trying to teach him the word, "yellow" and that each of the boxes that made up the picture of the pear had the word "yellow" in them.  THAT's why he was to color the boxes yellow.  Once I explained that to him he seemed fine, but I was still sad to see my boy crying on his first day of school and not excited to go back again.

Later, in the car, Ben told me that he was coloring his pear green and then all the kids told on him.  It sounds like he was just embarrassed for doing something "wrong" and refused to do it after that.  Following directions turned out to be a harsh but important lesson to learn on the first day of Kindergarten.  

We invited a friend over for lunch, smoothies and some Star Wars legos and the world was right again!