Five-year-old Mason Wood said he is looking forward to “riding the big yellow bus.”

Wood was just one of many youngsters who came with their mom, dad or both on Thursday to register for kindergarten.

Held in the Rock Creek Park Sports Complex from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., many parents and prospective kindergarten students made their way to the complex to register for  a milestone in the lives of many young children.

This is the second year in which all of the elementary schools in the county have held initial registration all at once in the same location.

With mixed emotions about her twins Zachary and Rebecca starting school, Robin Friday says she “can’t believe five years went by this fast.”

Robin Friday said she was happy to see her children start a new chapter in their lives, but also a little sad at the same time.

Friday’s twins will be attending Black’s Mill Elementary School in the fall.

Not only is Andrew Burt experiencing a milestone in his life, his mother Jennifer Burt is too.

“My baby is going to kindergarten this fall and my oldest will be starting high school,” Jennifer Burt said.

Andrew Burt will be attending Robinson Elementary School, the largest elementary school in the county. His mother knows he will be in good hands because, “Robinson has a lot of good teachers. Many of the same teachers are still there from when I was in school,” she said.

With the newest phase of her life approaching, Abigail Johnston is looking forward to being a kindergartner at Black’s Mill.

Parents Patrick and Amanda Johnston said they were “anxious (about Abigail starting school), but she’s ready.”

Each school had a student registrar or student information staff member present to assist parents in getting their child ready for the beginning of their career’s as students.

“We’ve had more students register today than we had last year at this time,” said Jackie Lynn, student registrar of Black’s Mill. “So far, registration has gone well.”

Since Robinson currently has over 700 students and is the largest elementary school in the county, registrar Lisa Johnson also said there were more students registered this year as compared to last year and that she had the largest amount of registrations.

Darlene Gilleland, student information clerk of Kilough Elementary, said that at this stage of the game “its hard to tell how many students will start in the fall.”

Gilleland also said that make-up registration days will be scheduled in April, but they will be at the individual school.

For further information about registration, or to find out when the next opportunity is, contact the school that your child will attend: Robinson Elementary, (706) 265-6544; Black’s Mill Elementary, (706) 216-3300 or Kilough Elementary, (706) 216-8595.

E-mail Elizabeth Hamilton at elizabeth@dawsonnews.com.