The Rising First Grade Ceremony

This morning was one of our school’s most beautiful traditions and I’m so pleased to have played a part in it.

In this ceremony our three kindergarten teachers come out the doors of the early childhood wing, holding the hands of the rising first graders.

They hold hands, spiraling in and then out, singing together. When they emerge from the spiral, the new first graders are ready to cross over the bridge into the grade school.

After the students crossed the bridge, I took the child at the front of the line and we went into the 1st grade classroom where I told them a story. (At some point I’ll share the story I told. I came up with it after combining the recommendations of a few friends and colleagues.)

I confess I was not prepared for the emotions I felt as I watched my new students cross the bridge. I felt humbled by the trust that their parents are placing in my hands and so thrilled by the opportunity to finally start with my own group of students in first grade after so many years taking over classes for other teachers.

I had such fun telling them a story and loved watching their reactions. At one point in the story I told them about my daughter who collected rocks. I said, “You know, the really special ones that are shaped like a heart, or are really smooth or have a sparkly bit.” They all said, “Oh yes, we know!” It was all they could do to stop themselves from interrupting the story to tell me about their special rocks.

So sweet.

The whole thing was just lovely and at the end I got my first first grade teacher hug.

It was a pretty great day.