NATCHEZ — Brian Odom held tight to his mother Belinda Odom’s leg and needed just a bit more assurance before venturing into his kindergarten classroom Wednesday at West Primary School.

Belinda gave one last hug and kiss before peeling 5-year-old Brian off of her leg and slipping into the hallway of the school.

“He’ll do this for a couple of days and then be fine,” she said with a slight sigh. “I’m used to it. He did the same thing last year and the year before that (in preschool).”

Because of Brian’s nervousness, Belinda filled the morning before school by talking about his favorite cartoon characters Dora and SpongeBob.

“We tried to keep the morning happy, but by this afternoon, he’ll be fine,” Belinda said.

Brian was just one of many kindergartners starting school in the Natchez-Adams School District Wednesday.

And he wasn’t the only nervous student walking the halls at West Primary.

Sonya Galmore said her son Javius Galmore, 5, was also a little anxious about the beginning of the school year.

But Galmore had no worries.

“I just told him to go in and play with the other kids,” she said. “Once he starts having fun and gets distracted, he’ll be fine.”

The first day of school can be a little nerve racking for all ages, but West Primary Principal Cindy Idom said the morning had flowed fairly smoothly.

Once children started arriving at 7:15 a.m., Idom said she and her staff did their best to present a smiling face to each child that walked through the doors.

“We haven’t had many criers today,” she said. “Every thing has just been exciting and wonderful.

“Everyone has known their first and last name so it has been great.”

Veteran kindergarten teacher Courtney Feltus said she keeps the first day of school fairly simple, since she knows her students may be a little rattled by the new surroundings.

“We do a lot of rules and take a tour of the school,” she said. “Just little activities to get to know each other.”

Feltus said in her 17 years of teaching, all in kindergarten, Wednesday morning was one of the smoothest she has had.

And Feltus said it isn’t always the children that have trouble letting go.

“We’ve had a couple of criers, but mostly it’s the parents,” she said. “But it has gone well today.”

By the middle of the morning, most of the nervous and scared students had calmed their nerves and fallen in nicely with their classmates.

Adam Penton, 5, a student in Kim Godfrey’s kindergarten class waited patiently for his turn in the bathroom, as his teacher helped a few other students with their bathroom routine.

“After you wash your hands, remember to put your shirt back in,” Godfrey instructed students.

“At this age, you have to go over everything.”

Penton said he was having a good first day of school and was happy to be dropped off.

“My mom and dad brought me,” he said. “They were happy, too.”

And though the drop off went smoothly, there was one snag in Adam’s day — his pencils.

“My granny bought them, but they aren’t the kind Mrs. Godfrey likes,” he said. “But that’s OK.”

The butterflies weren’t just for the students, teachers were also excited and nervous about the start of the school year. First year music teacher Roderick Whitley had a little trouble sleeping, too.

“It was like Christmas,” he said. “I didn’t sleep too well. I kept thinking tomorrow’s the day.”

Whitley took over from Bobbie Wynn, who recently retired.

“She taught me when I was little and I did my student teaching with her,” Whitley said. “I learned a lot from her. She gave great advice.”

Whitley doesn’t actually start teaching a class until Monday as teachers will use the first few days of school to get students acclimated. But he isn’t just sitting around.

“I’m going to sit in on some other classes and get a feel for the children and other teachers,” he said. “Everyone has their niche and I fell in love with teaching kindergarten. They are so innocent and ready to learn.”

And Whitley is ready to teach — after one more sleepless night.

“Sunday will be worse,” he said. “I’ll be thinking all night. I’m uber excited to get the children in here and start teaching.”