It’s importance rivals Christmas or your birthday. The anticipation is unbearable. The kids ask every day: “Is it here yet?”
Yes, it’s the class list — a fat little packet of information that will guide your child’s social and academic life for the next nine months. Which friends are in the class? What school supplies are required? Which teacher will spend more time with your child than you?
Ours just arrived and the news is good.
One daughter is entering fourth grade. Last year, her best friend was not in her class. She wept on her bed. This year, they are together. Shouts of joy.
The other daughter is entering kindergarten. The names on the list are unfamiliar, but these are the future friends for possibly the next 12 years and beyond. She also was assigned her big sister’s kindergarten teacher, a beloved figure in our house.
More good news: The school nurse has all but banned Crocs and flip-flops again this year. This women is a hero.
As for the school supply list, has anyone ever heard of “Chair Sox”? Neither had I, but it was on the list. It’s four tennis balls sliced so they fit over the bottom of each chair leg. Why I have to buy these is beyond me. I don’t mind the pencils, Sharpies, glue, folders and binders. I figure I’m providing a well-behaved child who can read, use the bathroom and isn’t wearing a Juicy Couture mini-skirt. Can’t someone else get the Chair Sox?