Finley’s First Day of School

It was Finley’s first day of preschool. Finley was very scared because she had never actually been to school before. She was three years old. She was feeling very scared because she was worried that everybody wouldn’t like her and they wouldn’t be her friends.

It was time to go to school, so Finley packed her apple for her snack, packed her pencil, packed Lunchables for her lunch, and packed her books. Then, she went off to school. It was very close, so she could walk alone.

When she got to school, everybody looked at her, and she said, confused, “What are you all looking at?”

Then everybody, including the teacher, said, “You, of course!”

Then, Finley thought in her head, Well, I’ll just go to my desk. She went to a desk that said her name at the top, and she learned something new! She learned that the long hand on the clock was the minute hand, and that the short hand on the clock was the hour hand.

And then, the teacher, whose name was Ms. Shelly, said, “Next week, we’re going to have a test! It’s going to be about numbers.”

Finley was very scared because she was worried. What if she got a bad grade? What if the teacher was upset at her?

Then it was time for writing.

The teacher said, “You are all going to write the scariest thing that has ever happened to you.”

Then the teacher said, “Get your pencils from your backpack.”

And everybody got their pencils from their backpacks, including Finley.

Finley tried to write the best she could, “The scariest thing that ever happened to me was when I was on the beach, and I was in the water, and then a big wave came, and then it brought me down on the wet sand in the water, and I didn’t even plug my nose. And I rolled on the beach, and I felt very tired.”

And then, when the teacher stopped at her desk to look at her paper, the teacher put a four on it, which meant that she did a great job.

And then, at the end of writing, the teacher said, “The best one that I put a four on was Finley’s!”

And Finley was so surprised and proud of herself. And then, it was time for snack. So she went to her backpack and got out her apple, and the people next to her were asking Finley questions on what she wrote for the scariest thing that happened.

Then, Finley took a bite and said, “I wrote that I was on the beach in the water, and this big wave came to me and brought me down on the sand in the water, and then I rolled on the sand without even plugging my nose.”

Everybody gasped and was like “Oh!” because they were so scared she rolled on the sand without even plugging her nose. They looked at her like that was an interesting story, and she became popular!

At recess, a girl named Mila was alone and had no one to play with, so Finley asked Mila, “Do you want to play with me?”

Finley thought it was a great idea that instead of them making friends with her, she’d make friends with them.

Mila said yes in a very quiet voice.

And then they played with blocks. They made a stage that wasn’t really one, just for accessories like people.

Then it was time to leave recess and go to the classroom, so they did.

They went straight to the rug, and Ms. Shelly said, “We’re going to sleep. We have blankets for you.”

But instead of sleeping, Mila and Finley talked to each other without Ms. Shelly noticing, because she was also sleeping!

And then, Finley said, “Did you bring your toothpaste and toothbrush?”

Mila said, “Yes.”

And Finley said, laughing, “Me too! Let’s brush our teeth in the bathroom!”

They tiptoed to their backpacks and opened their zippers slowly, so that they wouldn’t make any noise. They got out their toothbrushes and toothpaste, and then they snuck into the bathroom. Then they switched toothpastes and brushed their teeth with the toothpaste they switched. After they brushed their teeth, they went back to their beds, and then in one second, the teacher, Ms. Shelly, woke up and said, “Sleep time is over!”

Everybody woke up except Mila and Finley because they were already awake. So everybody stood up and took off their covers and blankets, and the teacher put the beds back where they belonged. Then it was time for play time, but they couldn’t go outside because, unfortunately, it just started raining.

The next day was Friday, the day before Finley’s birthday! She wanted everyone to be at her birthday, but uh-oh. She thought of something. She wanted to keep it a secret, but then nobody would come to her birthday party except Mila! Oh no!!! How am I going to invite everybody without ruining the surprise!!!

Then she had an idea. She was going to tell everybody to give her their phone numbers. So then, she packed her pencils again, she packed her apple again, and she packed her toothbrush again. And then, she was ready to go to school alone again!

At school, she told everybody in her class to give her their phone numbers, so the teacher said, “Oh, that’s a good idea for a class project! We’re each going to put our phone numbers on a piece of paper, and then we can call each other!”

So everybody did the project without even learning anything. Her classmates, including Mila, gave their papers to Finley. Finley put them in her backpack, and then it was time to go home, so Finley went home alone. She read the phone numbers and called everybody to tell them, “Come to 169th Street tomorrow at 11:00 AM.”

And then, she went to sleep… she didn’t hear her parents coming in. Her parents had all this stuff for her birthday: purple and pink streamers, blue and yellow balloons, a number four candle, and water for water balloons! The colors of the water balloons were all the colors in the rainbow. They were feeling super excited because they were so happy their own daughter would be happy! They started hanging all the decorations up in the backyard.

Then, the next day, when Finley woke up, she called everyone again and said, “Remember to come to my house on 169th Street at 11:00 AM.”

And then, she saw a little bit of streamers and water balloons in her bedroom. Her parents left that for her as a surprise! And then Finley went to the backyard, and she put up the streamers and put the water balloons in a basket, but before that, she saw everything hung up! She thought it was some sort of trick people were playing on her because she didn’t know her parents had come home for her birthday!

Then, for her surprise, her parents popped out of a bush and yelled really loudly, “Happy birthday, Finley!!!”

Finley’s mouth opened, and her cheeks turned as pink as tulips. She yelled back, “You came back!!!”

She was feeling very, very, very surprised.

Then, everybody in her class came out of the backyard door, and Mila was there too! Now, Finley’s parents were surprised because they didn’t know she had called all of these people to invite them to her birthday. They didn’t know she made so many friends on her first day of preschool!

They all said, “Happy Birthday, Finley!!!”

Lesson learned. Finley learned not to be scared to make a new friend… or twenty friends! And everybody ate cake and had a happy birthday party.

 

5 thoughts on “Finley’s First Day of School”

  1. I love cats too!! Your story is so wonderful Maya! You did an awesome job! I’m so proud of you :)!

    Love

    Aunty Allison 😉

  2. Maya! This is grandmother. You are great girl.
    You make me surprised. You will get big author to your future. Grandmother proud of you. I don’t know this letter is good?
    I love you

    1. Maya!!! Auntie Alicia and Uncle Herman are so proud of you. We love your story. Such a great lesson for us all this remember. Keep writing, Maya! We will support you along the way. Sending you so much love!!!!! ✌✌✌✌✌✌

  3. You are so brilliant Maya!!

    Thank you for sharing this wonderful story with us all.

    Love Uncle Herman.

  4. I was so surprised that you rote a long story.Is Finley your friend?Did this story really happen?Tell me when I go to your house.I’m waiting.See ya
    Your best friend Coco

Leave a Reply to Alicia and Herman Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *