Students returning to land of learning

The purple scissors, the blue pencil cases, the glue sticks striped with yellow, orange and pink. They never had this kind of stuff in kindergarten.

So the children raised fistfuls of pencils in celebration. They leaned across desks to compare the color of erasers. They yelled out the number of sharpeners they had at the ready, just in case some pencil needed a tip.

"I know this is pretty exciting," said Kathy Hovis, a first-grade teacher at A.G. Bell Elementary in Kirkland. "But let's just put four pencils in your schoolbox."

As schools in the Lake Washington district opened their doors yesterday, Hovis welcomed her 35th class of students into Bell Elementary. In more than three decades as a first-grade teacher, Hovis has taught generations of local residents how to read, inspiring some to join her profession later in life.

She has also grounded her children in the basics of good behavior, from how to wait in line to how to accept mistakes with grace.

"If they can be good citizens in here, they can be good citizens anywhere," she said.

Colleagues describe Hovis as a master of her field, from her calm, patient manner to the tough demands she makes of her kids. She makes fun of her own mistakes and puts kids at ease with theirs, saying those few famous words: "not to worry."

"Kathy's as good at what she does as John Coltrane was with the alto sax," said Principal Jeffrey Newport. "There are teachers out there that work at that level."

A graduate of Central Washington University, Hovis came to teaching on a whim. She slipped into the career after years as a summer camp counselor. It seemed like the logical way to go, at a time when women were not welcome in many careers.

Now Hovis has become a fixture at the school, a mentor to younger teachers and a support for new families in the area, some of whom do not speak English. For Geri Wegener, the secretary at Bell, the first day of school would simply not be the same without her.

"I just can't imagine not having her there to greet those kids," said Wegener, whose two daughters were in Hovis' class decades ago.

For Hovis, the first day of school is all about setting the routines. Push in your chair when you get up from the desk. Place your hands in your lap when listening to a story. Close your mouth when other people are speaking. Form a straight line and stand still while you wait.

The main goal of the year is reading, she said. But beyond that, there are the small lessons of life to learn — and waiting in line is one of them. It's something they'll do for decades to come — at Mariners games, the movies, the grocery store.

"If you're standing behind someone who's running around, is that fun?" she said. "No."

By mid-morning, Hovis considered herself lucky. Not one child had cried. There was some separation anxiety over a pencil case, but not one student was sobbing for home. The most disruptive moment came when a boy stretched out during story time, tired of it all.

"How many days are there in first grade?" he asked.

"One hundred and eighty," Hovis replied, then turned the page of the book.

Hovis is known for her unflappable manner, from the start of the school day to the last afternoon bell.

It comes in handy with first graders, said her instructional assistant, Marilyn Stodghill; the children, so curious, are hard to contain.

To see it in action, she said, all you have to do is watch them at recess.

"It's just like watching little ants," said Stodghill, smiling. "They're all over the place."

And so it was yesterday morning, as Hovis had her students coloring a cartoon of the Gingerbread man. There was only one instruction she gave: don't use yellow to write your name at the top.

"How about gray?" asked a boy in the second row.

Anything but yellow, Hovis said.

"Is orange OK?" asked a girl up front.

Anything but yellow, Hovis said, moving with patience through the aisles.

"They'll come along," she said later. "They'll get better tomorrow."

Cara Solomon: 206-464-2024 or csolomon@seattletimes.com