Day of firsts: Back to school brings first times for kindergartners

By Alicia Rimel

Published: August 19, 2008

Erin Sprouse, 5, admitted only once to being nervous.
Her stoic visage did not betray those butterflies.
“She got up pretty fast this morning,” said Erin’s mother,  Debbie Sprouse. “She usually doesn’t like going to bed at night, so she was a little sleepy this morning, but she got right up.”
Riding to school in the back of her parents’ red van, Erin gently hummed to herself, periodically commenting on the rows of corn whipping past.
Tuesday was Erin’s first day of kindergarten at Augusta County’s Hugh K. Cassell Elementary.
A night earlier, Erin was front and center for a veritable fashion show, her mother said.
“She picked out her outfit last night and her lunch for Mommy to pack,” said Sprouse. “She went through her whole closet, looked at every outfit, then she picked one out. She went through the whole armoire and said, ‘Let me see this one, let me see this one.”
Her fashion savvy must have paid off. Erin compared shoes with a classmate, each turning their heels for a better look at the other’s style.
For Erin, Tuesday was a day of pure excitement. For her mother, it was one of pure emotion.
“My husband was laughing at me crying over the summer,” Sprouse said. “He said, ‘But, she’s going to be with you!’ But, my baby’s growing up. It’s a big step.”
Sprouse snapped a picture of Erin tugging open a door many times her size – a proud smile on the 5-year-old’s lips.
Arriving early so her mother could ready her own classroom for the first day, Erin quietly nibbled a Pop Tart, her slippered feet tapping the white tile floor impatiently.
Once inside Linda Bugden’s kindergarten classroom, Erin remained wide-eyed while absorbing her new surroundings – the sleeve of her pink sweatshirt stuffed in one cheek.
As Bugden acquainted her new students with the daily routine, she asked some questions – testing the young pupils’ ability to wait patiently with their hands raised.
Once Erin felt acclimated, she offered her own contribution to the conversation.
“I’m just starting to read.”
Erin’s first day was consumed with books – one about a mouse tackling his own first day at school – building blocks and wiggling around the room to a very energetic gentleman on CD.
“[First days] are always very exciting,” said Bugden. “Each year, I have to remember that this is their very first time for everything – from sitting on the carpet to listening to a story. It’s just a busy, crazy kind of day – but it’s very enjoyable and very fun.”
Especially when the doors open for recess.
“Going outside is my favorite outdoor thing,” Erin said.