Jessica Ann Smith , from Atlanta, Georgia, woke up bright and early. Today is a very special day. It is the first day of school at Franklin Elementary School.

Jessica quickly jumped out of bed and checked her brand new backpack Mom and Dad had given her. This would be the backpack Jessica would carry to class every day.

Wonderful smells were coming from the kitchen. Jessica hurried to the breakfast table where her favorite cereal was ready. Jessica ate heartily while thinking about the classroom adventures that would take place today.

Jessica, followed by Mom and Dad, hurried to the corner to wait with the other kids for the bus. They talked about the fun things they were going to do today. The sound of the bus drew cheers as it stopped at the curb. It was time to go to school.

As she climbed into the bus, Jessica waived goodbye to her Mom and Dad.

After a short ride, the bus pulled up at Franklin Elementary School. It looked very big to Jessica. All of the children were filled with wonder as they got off the bus. Entering the front door of the school was exciting.

Jessica and all the new students took their seats in the bright and colorful classroom. The teacher introduced herself. She talked about the many fun things that they would be doing in her class.

"We will read everyday," said the teacher. She picked up a book and read a funny story. Jessica and the whole class laughed. "Before long," said the teacher, "All of you will learn to read very well."

"We start with learning our letters," said the teacher. "There are 26 letters in our alphabet. Repeat after me... A - B - C - D - E - F - G - H - I - J - K - L - M - N - O - P - Q - R - S - T - U - V - W - X - Y - Z"

Jessica and the whole class repeated all the letters of the alphabet.

"Next, we learn our numbers. Numbers are for counting," said the teacher. "Let us count to ten." The whole class counted out loud. 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10.

Jessica had fun counting out ten numbered blocks and stacked them on the table.