Episode 404: First Day at Mouse School

Bear in the Big Blue House

Premiere	September 17, 2002
Written by	Andy Yerkes
Director	Mitchell Kriegman
Theme	First

Bear welcomes you inside (you smell like paper and paste!) and takes you into the kitchen. Today is finally Tutter's very first day at Mouse School, and everybody's talking about it. Doc Hogg even stops by to wish Tutter well and shares a cry with Bear over how much Tutter's growing up. But when Tutter realizes Bear is only dropping him off at school, his fears catch up with him and he begins to worry that he won't fit in. Bear helps Tutter through his worries and agrees to wait outside the school until Tutter's comfortable with being there on his own.

Luckily for them, there's a "first day parent waiting area" right outside the school. While Bear joins some other first day mouse parents, Tutter begins familiarizing himself with the school. With some encouragement from a classmate, Tutter finds the courage to ask Miss Maxwell about lunchtime and is delighted to hear that the school serves cheese for lunch. He happily tells Bear the good news, but decides he isn't quite ready for Bear to leave yet.

Tutter rejoins the rest of the class for art time. He gets a little worried when Miss Maxwell approaches him, but she assures Tutter that everything is okay and even compliments his drawing. The mice all begin to feel a little sleepy, so Miss Maxwell gets them ready for nap time. Tutter gives Bear another update before his nap, but still remains a little unsure about school, so Bear agrees to stay a little longer.

After the mice have their nap, Tutter shyly watches Keisha and Luke as they construct a block tower. He's a little nervous about asking Miss Maxwell for help addressing his feelings instead of Bear, but decides to give his teacher a chance to help him. With her encouragement, Tutter joins his classmates, only to accidentally knock down their block tower. Tutter worries for a moment that he's blown it, but his classmates are welcoming and invite him to build the next tower with them. Bear checks up on Tutter one last time, and the mouse finally decides he's ready for Bear to leave. Tutter thanks Bear for his help and eagerly rejoins his classmates.

That night, Bear talks to Luna about Tutter's first day of school, and Luna muses about the children she's watched grow up over the years. Bear says goodbye to the viewer and adds that he's looking forward to sharing more "firsts" with them.