MARK MY WORD: FAMILY SURVIVES THE FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN

I'm ready to celebrate. Our family survived the first day of kindergarten.

Joni and I were excited on that first day of school last week. Our oldest daughter, Becca, was a little less excited.

She didn't like the fact that I brought along the camera and made her pose for pictures in her kindergarten class.

"All the parents are doing it," I pointed out. But such reasoning meant little to her.

After much pleading and prodding, we managed to get her to smile at the camera as she sat at her little desk.

I had a still camera. There were plenty of other parents aiming video cameras at their children.

After a few lingering looks around the classroom, we reluctantly headed to work.

Joni and I couldn't wait for the first day of classes to end.

After work, we picked up Becca at a nearby church that provides after-school care.

"How was it?" I asked, waiting for Becca to go into a long, detailed account of her first day at school.

"It was fun," she replied.

I waited for her to elaborate. But she was silent.

After making sure she was immunized, had her backpack and all her school supplies, we had expected to hear a vivid account of "School, Day One."

Getting her to talk about kindergarten was a daunting task. We continued to question her.

As journalists, we know how to ask questions.

But it was clear Becca wasn't going to give a detailed account of her day.

Kindergarten kids would make good spies. You wouldn't have to worry that they would spill their guts under intense interrogation.

I'm surprised the military hasn't thought of this.

We did learn that she liked going to the cafeteria for lunch and that "quiet time" really meant that you had to be quiet.

She also said she liked her teacher and the fact she wore glasses.

Maybe that's what's wrong with education. There aren't enough sight-challenged teachers.

We got some more clues about Becca's schooling from the papers that came out of her backpack. She drew her face in art class and colored "Mr. M" with his munchy mouth.

Fortunately for us, we also had some idea about kindergarten routine thanks to an orientation session two days before the start of school.

We congregated in the kindergarten room with its smiley faces and other decorations to hear first-hand how the teacher would deal with all those young minds.

She assured us that those young minds wouldn't be left in charge of the glue. There's nothing worse than gluing your forehead to your desk.

It's OK for kids to stick together, just as long as they aren't physically bonding with glue.

The orientation session isn't just to reassure you that your child won't fail kindergarten. It also is designed to sign you up for the PTA.

It didn't take long. Before we knew it, Joni and I had signed up to help with the classroom parties and make America safe for democracy.

Citizenship starts in the classroom, with parents volunteering to save the world and help kindergarten kids' open their milk containers.

You feel proud to be a part of something like this.

As parents, we want to talk about it. That's not the case with kids.

Fortunately, Becca's teacher plans to keep us informed with a weekly newsletter.

That way, we won't have to depend on our daughter to tell all, maybe just parts of it.

~Mark Bliss is a staff writer for the Southeast Missourian.