My son loved his first day of kindergarten. It brings up my own bittersweet memories

['James Kassaga Arinaitwe', '.Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Coauthors.Is-Layout-Flow', 'Class', 'Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus', 'Display Inline', '.Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Avatar', 'Where Img', 'Height Auto Max-Width', 'Vertical-Align Bottom .Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Coauthors.Is-Layout-Flow .Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Avatar', 'Vertical-Align Middle .Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Avatar Is .Alignleft .Alignright'] TPR: The Public's Radio 2025-08-29 18:04:07

Russell Siima, who started his first year of kindergarten at a public school in Montgomery County, Md., this week, waves goodbye to his parents. (Ben de la Cruz/NPR)Millions of children across the United States are stepping into kindergarten for the first time. My son, Russell Siima, started the first year of his primary education in a public school in Montgomery County, Md. Russell shows off a placard commemorating his first day of kindergarten earlier this week. On my son’s first day in kindergarten, I got to be there.