Our big girl is off to school! For 3 mornings a week this coming school year, Meredith will be at preschool.
Meredith has been counting down the days (literally) until her first day of school. It's been hard to be patient these past couple of weeks, as all of the "big kids" in the neighborhood have been going to school every day. But, she's been a patient girl and all of the waiting made today even more exciting, I think.
She was eager to wear her new outfit, and her sparkly shoes. When I asked her want she wants to be when she grows up, she kept telling me that she wants to be a "fesh". I was so confused. Finally, I asked her what a "fesh" does, and she told me that a "fesh" makes food. A CHEF! Of course. =)
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| She loves making this face - a little creepy, if you ask me! |
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| The backpack! |
School Kids!
Next-door neighbor & friend, D, had his first day of preschool (3-year-old) today also!
We are thankful that Daddy could go with us to drop Meredith off today.
We are here!
At her "meet the teacher" day, Meredith played with this counting game. Ever since then, she has been telling people that what she is most looking forward to about preschool is "playing with the gumball machines." As soon as she got into the classroom this morning, she went straight for it.
After she finished the gumball game, she did Play-Doh. It was at this point that she told me to "Go!" I figured I must have heard her wrong....surely she wasn't telling us to leave?! I asked her for clarification, and sure enough, she told us to "go home". On one hand, that's kind of funny. On another hand, I'm thankful that she feels confident & ready for school. But on the other hand (my blog, so I can have 3 hands), it makes me want to cry! How is it possible that my baby girl is big enough and old enough and mature enough to go to school all by herself? Waaaahhh!
The hardest part for me about sending my babies off to school is knowing that once they start, they don't stop...for many many years. So much of a child's first years leads up to that very 1st day of school. And that very first day is merely a gateway into a new way of life. No more lazy days at home playing and snuggling. No more sporadic trips to the zoo or the museum in the middle of the week. So begins the days of very filled calendars, homework, and new friends. While these things are not bad by any means, it's a huge change. Our kids' worlds are expanding and life is going to be so much more complicated. While I am thankful that our kids are in good schools and surrounded by good people, it's hard to come to the realization that their lives are going to involve more than just us. Sure they have been involved in all sorts of things outside of our home prior to this...but the amount of hours on a given day that our kids were with us far surpassed the number of hours they were in someone else's care. These reasons were some of the reasons we homeschooled last year. Part of me is absolutely going to miss it this year, but we are confident that the Lord is going before us in this new season, just as He was with us and before us when we made the choice to have school at home last year.
Slowly but surely, times are a-changing. Ready or not, here we come. Thankfully, I think we are ready....some of us more than others. ;)
And then there were 2.
