My mom opened my backpack and noticed that it was empty again.  She asked what I did at school and I said “I don’t know.”  But, I did know.  I did so much I didn’t know where to start.  Over the next few hours though, she heard all about it…

My day started with finding the courage to actually go up the stairs and down the hall.  I was so relieved to find my teacher at the door with a high five or a fist bump all ready for me.  There were lots of learning toys on the table for me to play with.  I sorted colors and strung beads.  I matched numbers and made a playdough snake.

Next we had circle.  Sometimes circle is hard for me because we have to listen forever. Today we sang and danced and stretched our bodies.  We did our jobs, and then the teacher read a story.  It was about a cat who got new shoes!

Then we got to play in the classroom.  I used the blocks and built a big, giant zoo and put the wild animals in different rooms.  A boy bumped into it and knocked it over.  I cried.  My teacher helped me calm down and use words to say how I felt.  Then the boy said he would help me rebuild my zoo.  He had some really cool ideas.  I played lots of other places too.  We had a “pizza party” in the dramatic play center.  I was a server and got to run the cash register for all of the “guests.”  I loved running my hands through the rice in the discovery table.  There were lots of scoops and containers to use, but my hands were the best!

Finally, it was my turn to paint.  My teacher put blue paint on one hand and yellow paint on the other.  She told me to rub them together.  I wasn’t so sure about that, but the girl next to me did it and started giggling.  So I was brave and spread the paint all over my hands.  Guess what!  My hands turned green and I got to add my handprints to the big picture we are making as a class.  We had fun during centers, but we made a pretty big mess.  My teacher noticed that I did my part to help clean up.  It made me feel like I am important to my class.

Next came my very favorite part of the day.  We went to the playground and I got to run and run with the other kids.  We played chase and even my teacher joined in.  One boy found a spider web and we spent a lot of time watching it crawl on the web. Then I started digging in the sandbox.  I want to find the bottom.  My new friends helped as we piled up buckets and buckets of sand.  All that hard work made me very hungry and I was looking forward to snack.  But, before snack, we had to wash hands and wait for our classmates.  Waiting is hard, but my teacher is helping me be patient.

Snack was yummy.  Thanks mommy for packing things I like to eat.  We listened to some grown up music while we were eating.  I’m not sure what I think about it yet.  My teacher says that I will learn to “appreciate it” as the year goes on.

Before I knew it, the day was almost over.  We drew in our journals, put together puzzles and read some books while we waited for our moms.  And then, you came back.

So, my backpack was empty, but my day, my brain, and my heart is full.