The First Week of School

Kids on the Upper East Sidegrade their new classrooms

Labor day has come and gone, which means school's back in session. Our Town took a trip to P.S. 6 on E. 81st Street to talk to kids about coming back. We caught up with first grader Priyanka, twin second graders Owen and Neil, and siblings Lilah and Nicholas as they talked about their experiences.

Priyanka, 1st Grade

OT: What's your favorite subject in school?

Priyanka: Art. I like to do some arts and crafts.

OT: What did you do your first week of school?

Priyanka: For arts, actually I just drawed what I did this summer.

OT: What did you do this summer?

Priyanka: I went to the Disney cruise.

OT: What else did you learn this week?

Priyanka: I learned two math games. Today I did one but my teachers didn't tell me what it's called, and the other one is called Go For a Swim.

OT: What are you looking forward to about first grade?

Priyanka: Well, I kind of like doing the math.

OT: So you like math, and art? do you like writing?

Priyanka: Yeah. I like school.

Owen and Neil, 2nd Grade Twins

OT: What's your favorite subject in school?

Owen and Neil: Math.

OT: Why do you like math?

Neil: You get to play under the tub. You pick a number, and then you put some on top and some under.

OT: What'd you guys do this week?

Neil: We did math, we did reading. Mostly I read animal books. We did reading and writing workshops. And I did art and I did music.

OT: What's your favorite part of being back in school.

Owen: So I can see my friends?

Neil: I'm excited to see what my teachers are like and also see my new classmates.

OT: What are you looking forward to about second grade?

Neil: I'm looking forward to have fun.

Owen: I can't wait to make lots of new friends.

Lilah (2nd Grade) and Nicholas (1st Grade)

OT: What's your favorite subject.

Lilah: Reading.

Nicholas: Math!

(Mom: One at a time.)

OT: Why do you like reading, Lilah?

Lilah: I just like to read because I like to know the stories. My favorite is the Magic Treehouse. There are children, and they discover a magic treehouse and then they know this person Morgan and then they go on so many adventures to find like something secret and they learn spells.

OT: Great. And Nicholas, what do you like about math?

Nicholas: I don't know, I just like it!

OT: Are you good at it?

Nicholas: yeah.

OT: What did you learn this first week in school? What happened on your first day?

Nicholas: Nothing really, but? I go in school, and I went for one hour because it was only my first day and then I left.

OT: What did you learn this week, Lilah?

Lilah: We had a math assessment and a writing assessment and we learned a new math game. I forgot what it's called but you have these unifix cubes and you have to fill these roads and you have to fill all of them with these unifix cube.

OT: What's the nicest part about coming back?

Lilah: Seeing my friends!

Nicholas: I like seeing my friends, too.

OT: What are you looking forward to about first grade?

Nicholas: Getting a jumbo marble.

Lilah: I liked getting marbles because now I have like ten million marbles.

Nicholas: You get them for good behavior.

OT: Have you got any marbles already?

(Nicholas shows three marbles, which he has been clutching furtively in his hand.)

Mom: He got them today.

OT: What do you get for good behavior in second grade?

Lilah: We get these tickets, and you write your name on them, and then the teacher picks it and one that's a girl and one blue one for the boys and whoever gets picked out of the jar, they get to pick a prize from the box.

OT: What are you looking forward to about second grade?

Lilah: I don't know, I just love my teacher Ms. Rosenberg.