Yesterday we found out Annabel’s teachers and classmates (we’re all thrilled—I’m happy about the awesome teachers, she’s happy that her best friend is in her class). As we walked back from the school, I told her how her uncle and I would be bouncing off the walls the night before school started. When she asked why, I said it was because I was excited for fresh beginnings and to be with my friends, and that Uncle Kyle was excited to learn (which is probably why he can still do algebra and remembers all the state capitals).
Annie asked me lots of other questions about my elementary school days. She thought it was amazing that Kyle and I were sometimes in the same class (Kindergarten, first, and fourth).
I showed her this picture of us on our first day of Kindergarten and she said, “Mom, you look so pretty and Uncle Kyle looks like he’s going to exercise.”
She also said I looked, “Kinda evil,” in this one, which is hard to argue with (and I have no idea why I look like I’m praying. I went to a public school!)
She thought it was, “SO COOL” that we had chalkboards in our classrooms, which confused me at first until I remembered that her school uses white boards. She’s never seen a giant blackboard!
Annie also couldn’t believe that my school didn’t get computers until I was in third or fourth grade. “How did you look stuff up? How did you learn how to type?” I further blew her mind when I told her that the computer screens were black with green writing and graphics. “Like Minecraft?” Yeah, but the graphics weren’t bad on purpose.
Annabel’s elementary school reminds me so much of the one I attended all those years ago. It’s nestled inside our neighborhood, and there are only two or three classes per grade. Everyone knows each other and takes pride in the school. I feel very lucky that my kids are going to have the close-knit, community school experience.
Kyle and me on the first day of first grade.
It also makes me feel old!
Bianca says:
Good luck to Annie!
As a Brit, though, your post made me laugh a little. My elementary school was definitely very small even by comparison to yours, it seems: 1 class per grade, with around 30 students per grade, so around 180 in the whole school (absolutely no more than 200 if you count the reception class, aged 5, which was always smaller). Going from that to a high school with 180 students per grade (around 1100 in total) was without doubt a huge shock! Guess everything’s bigger in America :p
RD says:
You and Kyle *must* recreate that last photo, all the way down to his shoulders being in the same resigned position! Little Heather be like, “He’s mine!” (so danged CUTE!)
GreenInOC says:
I vote for the 1st one to be recreated – where Kyle looks like he’s in the middle of doing The Robot!
RD says:
You mean the first photo where Kyle looks like James.
Megan says:
Good luck, Annie!
I had to laugh at Annie’s comment about Kyle looking like he’s going to exercise, because I had the exact same thought…but those shorts are in again!
OTOH, your first day of kindergarten outfit reminds me of Stephanie Tanner’s…and the first grade one looks like a lot of the dresses I had for church when I was 6-8.
I have always gone to big schools. The elementary school where I went for grades 1-5 had about 900 kids. I think I would have thrived at a smaller school, but it prepared me for 2,400 students in high school and 30,000 in college.
Jana from Germany says:
Okay, coming from Germany it is very strange for me that classes and children in classes change every year in the US. In a german elementary school (first to fourth class) you generaly stayed together in a class exept if someone moves into town or does a class again, so very little change in classmates for the first 4 years. And then it is around 23 students per class so it is a small group.
Normally after fourth grade you change to the secondary school that you attend til you are finished with school. And that is normally the only time class combination change, also classes in secondary school can have till 31 students so it is a large difference.
But teacher can change every year but normally you do not know the teacher till classes start. And even in elementary school you can have a bunch of different teachers for different subjects.
Becca says:
Aww – I can’t quite put my finger on why but this is one of my favorite posts you’ve ever written. I LOVE the age to age comparisons!
Have a great first day of FIRST grade, Annie!
Glenda says:
Happy first day Annie!!
GreenInOC says:
In the last picture, was the couch green?! If so, we had that some couch & chaise – fancy!
RD says:
I was going to say the same thing about the couch, except that one looks to be decidedly blue/dark blue, as was the set we had. Did it have huge pillows that were used for the back cushions??
Heather says:
Yes!! That couch was soooo 80s but I miss it!
RD says:
Me too!!! The set was in the house I grew up in and *I miss all of it!*
Heather says:
Ours was green, though!
Melissa says:
Happy 1st Day Annie!! I remember writing reports using our encyclopedia set from 1954 before the Internet. A lot of the information wasn’t even correct anymore! I was so happy when we got Encycolpedia Brittanica, we thought it was the coolest thing ever. HA HA!
Megan says:
I’m glad I’m not the only one! I went to school in the 90s, but when I didn’t have time to go to the library, I relied on my mom’s encyclopedia set from the early 70s. My teachers never questioned why my citations always said “World Book 1971 edition,” but in hindsight, it’s so embarrassing!
Melissa says:
HA I was in high school in the 90’s too. One time I wrote a report on the solar system… that was pretty hysterical. I didn’t include Pluto because it wasn’t in the encyclopedia!! My teachers were good about it too, ah the good old days!!
Toni says:
I think I had that same dress Heather!
Annalisa says:
That’s not a pray pise. That’s a Mr. Burns is evil scheming pose.
Annalisa says:
Prayer pose. Darn autocorrect!!!
Heather says:
LOL YES!
Chris says:
I think I was in junior high before we had computers and then it was just the science class! LOL I went to so many different schools, but in general like Heather said 2-3 classes per grade and about 30-35 kids per class until jr high- which was 7th grade where I was moving from but 6th grade where I was moving too, so it was weird. But, having gone to 13 schools I was used to always being the new kid. Funny thing is though, even though I’m a couple years older than Heather I had classrooms that only had white boards and others that only had chalk. Weird. Love the pictures!!