Didaskaleinophobiacs?*

The first day is coming--be afraid. Be very afraid. (Not.) But a number of memorable first day events contribute to our school legend. From long ago, there was the elderly man who lived in the condos where the library building is now. Since our street was not officially one way, on the first day of school he would assert his right to turn LEFT out of his parking lot onto South Ponce de Leon Avenue, squeezing his large aged Cadillac against the traffic. Parents driving their little children to school on the first day would stare in amazement as he defiantly, scowlingly plowed his way out.

More recently, a 7th grader dressed up in a banana costume to greet the carpool on the first day. The banana darted among cars in an active parking lot, waving cheerfully, until our intrepid elementary coordinator Mary Lynn Cullen intercepted her with a "Hey! Banana!" and moved her to a safer location. I remember the 5 year old girl, excited for the first day, who dressed in a hurry in her new shirt and short skirt but forgot to put on underpants. ("I guess I forgot," she explained.) When I was delivering my own 6 year old Justin to Missy Aue's class in 1990, we walked through clusters of loudly chatting high school students. Justin tugged my hand and worriedly whispered, "Mom, I think this school is way too old for me."

And then there was last year, in which the weather service issued a tornado warning just as school was to begin. Several students new to Paideia apparently assumed that a sing-along in the basement of the 1509 building, where scores of sweaty children from age 5 to 11 were squeezed together, was a traditional opening day activity. José Cordero and his guitar came to the rescue yet again.

Many of us vividly remember our first day of kindergarten or first grade. The butterflies in the stomach, choosing that all-important outfit, trying to fall asleep the night before, wondering about friends... My own first day of first grade was a harbinger of my destiny. My mother was at home with a baby and a toddler, so I walked with my best friend Cindy and her mother. Cindy had on a meticulously starched smocked dress with cherries and a large bow in the back; I don't remember what I wore but I remember admiring her new dress. We spent the walk with our fingers crossed, hoping to be in the same class. But it was not to be. After Mrs. Tucker delivered Cindy, she found my name on a list and said, "It says here that they are still working on your classroom, Natalie, so your class will be meeting in the library for the first few weeks of school." In my heart I never left; by fourth grade I was the librarian's helper and I have the beanie to prove it. And Cindy and I remained friends even though we weren't in the same class.

First day jitters are not just for first graders. Former teacher Debbie Brown once told me that she sat beside her son the night before school started, helping him calm down, recalling her own first day of school when she was his age -- and her son was starting 10th grade. What might surprise our students, though, is that teachers get very nervous too. My professor husband admitted to me last week that he never sleeps well before his first day of class, and many of veteran elementary teachers sigh with relief after that first day, especially those with the bad luck to draw carpool duty the first week. I would love to hear other people's memories of first days of school -- please comment!

There is loads of advice out there for getting elementary children ready to go back to school. For young children, parents may want to read aloud some of the comforting, funny and lovely picture books that address this important event. Many are at your public library.

* didaskaleinophobiac: a person who is afraid of going to school.

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• Never Spit on Your Shoes by Denys Cazet. First grader Arnie tells his mother about his tiring first day at school, while the illustrations reveal the mayhem he is leaving out of the story.
• Will I Have a Friend? by Miriam Cohen. When Jim goes to school for the first time, he's afraid he won't find a friend there.
• Little Witch Goes to School by Deborah Hautzig. Little Witch goes to school for the first time and takes her classmates on a broomstick ride.
• Wemberly Worried by Kevin Henkes. A mouse named Wemberly, who worries about everything, finds that she has a whole list of things to worry about when she faces the first day of nursery school.
• Owen by Kevin Henkes. Owen's parents try to get him to give up his favorite blanket before he starts school, but when their efforts fail, they come up with a solution that makes everyone happy.
• Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes. Chrysanthemum loves her name, until she starts going to school and the other children make fun of it.
• Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse by Kevin Henkes. Lilly loves everything about school, especially her teacher, but when he asks her to wait a while before showing her new purse, she does something for which she is very sorry later.
• Garmann's Summer by Stian Hole. Summer is nearly over. The old aunts have come to visit, and autumn is in the air. Everything is ready for Garmann's first day of school, but he is till nervous. And he can't believe that he hasn't lost a single tooth yet, despite his best efforts!
• Virgie Goes to School with Us Boys by Elizabeth Fitzgerald Howard. In the post-Civil War South, a young African American girl is determined to prove that she can go to school just like her older brothers.
• Little Rabbit Goes to School by Harry Horse. Little Rabbit takes his favorite toy, Charlie Horse, along for his first day of school and when there is trouble, he blames it all on Charlie.
• Hooway for Wodney Wat by Helen Lester. All his classmates make fun of Rodney because he can't pronounce his name, but it is Rodney's speech impediment that drives away the class bully.
• The Awful Aardvarks Go to School by Reeve Lindbergh. An alphabetical listing of the acts of destruction committed by mischievous aardvarks on their animal classmates during a visit to school.
• Froggy Goes to School by Jonathan London. Froggy is nervous about his first day of school, but, even though it's hard to sit still, he has a wonderful time.
• Mrs. Watson Wants Your Teeth by Alison McGhee. A first grader is frightened on her first day of school after hearing a rumor that her teacher is a 300-year-old alien with a purple tongue who steals baby teeth from her students.
• The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn. When Chester the raccoon is reluctant to go to kindergarten for the first time, his mother teaches him a secret way to carry her love with him.
• My Name is Yoon by Helen Recorvits. Disliking her name as written in English, Korean-born Yoon, or "shining wisdom," refers to herself as "cat," "bird," and "cupcake," as a way to feel more comfortable in her new school and new country.
• Where are you going, Manyoni? by Catherine Stock. A child living near the Limpopo River in Zimbabwe encounters several wild animals on her way to school.
• Elizabeti’s School by Stephanie Stuve-Bodeen. Although she enjoys her first day at school, Elizabeti misses her family and wonders if it wouldn't be better to stay home.
• Amanda Pig, Schoolgirl by Jean Van Leeuwen. Amanda Pig's first day of school is every bit as wonderful as she always hoped it would be.
• Morris Goes to School by Bernard Wiseman. Morris the moose has an exciting day in school learning the alphabet, counting, singing, spelling, and doing other things that make him a unique moose.