ARLINGTON — It was a tale of two childrens first days at school for the Geist family at Pioneer Elementary.

Kailyn, 8, offered hugs to her folks as she got herself settled into her third-grade classroom, but she was taking things in stride and barely seemed to notice when they left.

Austin, 5, was a bit more concerned about starting kindergarten, and as they waited for the school doors to open, he received a brief pep talk from his dad, Anthony.

“With her, every time we’ve dropped her off at school, she’s been good on her own,” Geist said, as his kids started their first year of school in Arlington, having recently moved from Marysville. “He’s a little more clingy, though.”

As Crystal Maxie dropped off her daughter, Amara, 8, at her third-grade classroom, she was reminded of how quickly children change as they grow up.

“Look, that little girl has horses on her shirt, so she probably likes horses too,” Maxie said. “Maybe you can be friends.”

“I don’t like horses anymore,” Amara informed her mother, although she nonetheless expressed interest in making friends.

Maxie laughingly admitted that getting up early in the morning “is not our norm,” but because she’s also the mom of a middle-school student, she’d had a chance to wake up since rising at 6 a.m.

Jewel Brown, 11, and her friend Abby Udlock, 10, began fifth grade by posing for camera phone photos taken by Jewel’s mom, Michele. Jewel expressed an unflappable confidence at starting a new school year at Pioneer, but also credited her mom with helping her get started on the right foot.

“We prepared for everything,” Brown said. “I got her to bed early, laid out her clothes, had her lunch ready and her backpack stocked and even made sure there was gas in the car.”

Jewel added: “My mom made sure I woke up on time. All I have to do is try harder than last year and make new friends.”