Katie had been back-to-school shopping all week. Her mother helped her pick out several new dresses. She tried on red shoes, green shoes, and brown shoes. She got a new pair of tennis shoes, too. Katie's grandmother even sent her money to buy school clothes. She wanted Katie to look perfect for her first day at school.
Katie also needed school supplies. She got a notebook, a box of pencils, and three different sizes of markers. She got colored pencils, scissors, glue, and a giant box of crayons. She put her name on everything so she would be ready for school.
Katie found the perfect tote for her schoolbooks. Her mother wanted it to look special so she sewed an apple on it. She also embroidered her name on it in case she misplaced it during the year. Katie put everything neatly away in her room so she would be ready for the first day of school.
Katie visited her school several times before the first day. She wanted to be sure she knew where everything was. When the class lists were finally posted, she looked through all the lists. There it was. Her name was on the top of one of the lists: Katie Allen, First Grade, Room 3. She looked at the names of all the children in her classroom. She did not know any of them. Katie was getting nervous.
The night before school started, Katie laid out her school clothes. She wanted to get up early so she could be the first one there. She had a hard time getting to sleep. She thought about all the questions everyone has on the first day: What if no one likes me? What if I forget my lunch? What if I can't find anything? When she finally fell asleep, Katie dreamed she spilled her tomato soup on her dress. She dreamed she had to stay in school with a big spot of tomato soup on her dress all day.