This day finally came!

Emily picked out her clothes the night before, ate a good breakfast, consented to a few photos, packed up our family in the car, drove the mile and half, and made the journey into her new stage of life.

Emily was a little apprehensive about the unknowns of the day, but also excited about school. She was literally jumping with excitement before we left the house this morning. When we got to school she marched down the hall with her Daddy like she knew what she was doing. Emily patiently waited her turn in line to turn in her school supplies and meet the teacher. She seemed pleased with the attention and then enjoyed her practice exercises while she waited for the class to start. We asked her to give us hugs and tell us goodbye and then she happily went back to work on her desk assignment.

When it was time for pickup, she seemed to have a bit of a deer-in-headlights look until she found her Mama in the right car. Once the "helper" was getting her in the car she was exuberant to tell Mama that "School is Great!". She wasn’t a fountain of stories on the way home, but she continued to tell little things that has given a window into her day. She loved hearing stories and going to lunch. No playground today because of the rain though. She is definitely looking forward to going back on Friday.

When we dropped off Emily in her class we took the whole family. It seemed like a good idea for Julia to know where Emily would be during the day. When we left the classroom to walk down the hallway Julia told us, "I want my sister!". She did get settled and she had her own excitement for the day that distracted her. It was pretty sweet to see how much she enjoys being with her sister.

Emily’s new homework desk ready for when she has some.

Our Big Girl!

Check out her BIG flowery backpack. Maybe we will remember to get a photo like this around the end of the year to see how much smaller the backpack looks as she grows.

Our photos had to be taken inside today due to a rainstorm.

Her favorite Kitty lunchbox accompanied her to school today.

Her first school lunch, she told me that she finished it just in time. It seems lunch ended just after her last bite. Emily can be quite a talker at lunch instead of focusing on eating.

Emily walking down the hall to the Kindergarten wing. She wanted to do it on her own and didn’t want to take Daddy’s hand. Our independent girl!

I’m sure this will not be Emily’s assigned seat, but it was for the first day with her first coloring and writing activity. She was pleased as punch.

Emily with her Kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Pendergrass

As promised to Emily, when we returned from our trip it was time to go back to Thursday School. When we discussed Thursday School the girls were so excited. Then Wednesday night came and they were wide awake at bedtime due to excitement. They were excited to see their friends at school and we talked about several of them.

Thursday morning came and Julia got up for her therapy session and Emily was sound asleep. When it was time to wake up to get ready for school Emily didn’t want to. She was tired and wanted to stay asleep. I knew this would happen in her life, but I was hoping for something closer to Middle School, not a preschool mother’s day out class. When she did get up she just moved to the living room and laid back down saying that she was stretching. Ha! All normal morning drama aside we did get to school right on time.

Emily’s class is the oldest class in the program. Most of the kids in the class are familiar to her from last year, but the teacher changed as did the classroom. She is a little uncertain about the changes. A day later, she is still talking about wanting the things that were familiar to her from last year. When we went into the class our usual outgoing kid held back and took it slow. Even the presence of her best friend in the class didn’t warm her quickly to the new situation. I’m sure in a couple of weeks we will be back to the usual bubbly excitement of running to class faster than Mama can keep up, talking non-stop with her friends in class, and the bounce of familiarity with everything. Until then we will just have to be encouraging of trying new things and of change. This is such a great life lesson for Mama as much as for Emily. Change is essential, but in changing we learn about ourselves.

Julia is still in the youngest class in the program. They seem to have fewer teachers this year in the program and have capped the enrollment. Julia too had a deer-in-the-headlights reaction to her class. Her teachers are different and unfamiliar to her, but the classroom location is the same. When Mama dropped Julia off she got clingy and didn’t want to join the other kids. Mama left her in the arms of a teacher and didn’t look back. I didn’t get a phone call so I guess the call of the paint and play-dough won her over. She was SO excited to see Mama at the end of the class. That was identical to last year. In last years class she was one of two girls and it appears that this year the boy/girls mix is much more even. She too has her best friend in her class so hopefully when the Mama’s were not looking they played together and enjoyed their day.