Caitlin has been SO ready for school and so excited. I really think she would have been fine starting last year when she had just turned 3 but at that point I just wasn't ready to send her! I wanted to keep my little buddy home for another year and enjoy her and I really have enjoyed being with her all the time over the last year, it's been priceless. Sending a child to school is such a weird feeling... you are fully giving up a few hours a day to someone and somewhere else where they will learn and be molded and changed and pick things up and be around new people and ways of thinking. Knowing that she has been completely under my influence and control and teaching (other than the occasional friend's house and babysitting) thinking about turning her over makes me feel so weird! And to think this is just the beginning! But I recognize how important and good it is and I know that she will absolutely love school and her experiences. And she is so smart and ready to learn more.
She will be attending pre-school at Mrs. Maureen's in Pleasant Grove about 5 minutes from our house. She has two other little friends from the neighborhood in her class of 9 kids. She goes Monday, Wednesday, Friday from 9:30-11:45. Her teacher is very experienced and sweet and patient and the carpool situation is a plus too!
On the big day we got up and had a big breakfast then got ready. She asked me to curl her hair special for the first day. She had her new polka dot backpack filled with her special birthday treat to bring to her class (got to celebrate her bday on the first day of school!) She was excited and never seemed really nervous. We tried to get her excited but not talk it up so much so that she got nervous, it's a tender balance with her. I drove her there and outside the house Nolan started getting sad that she was leaving. He didn't want her to go and wanted to go to school with her. She so gave him a kiss and hug and sweetly said "It's ok Nolan, I'm going to school, I'l be back and see you in just a little bit! Don't be sad!" Typical Caitlin... so sweet and motherly and concerned. I walked her into her class and we found her little picture and name at the table and hung up her backpack. We said hi to her teacher she was very quiet, but not necessarily shy or nervous, just not super bubbly. Her little friends (Dax Black and Max Nord) were already there and came over to see is she wanted to go play so I told her, "ok I'm gonna go..." thinking she may resist a little but she said "ok mom, I'll see you later, because we are going to talk about the weather and the months of the year and stuff!" (pointing to all the different posters on the wall). She gave me a kiss goodbye and that was that! I went back out to the car and Nolan said "Caitlin go to school?" I said "yup, Caitlin went to school".... and immediately started bawling. I wasn't crying because I was sad, I was crying because I was so proud of her for being so great and excited and truly ready to take this next step. I really didn't think I was going to get emotional because we had been waiting and preparing so much. But I did.
During school I came back to the house and Nolan and I played the whole time. This was his ONLY day with Caitlin at school that he will ever have me to himself! We did trains, cars, blocks, whatever he wanted and we had a lot of fun. As we were playing blocks (aka be making a stack as tall and fast as I could so he could know it down) I started humming and he very sternly said "no mommy. no songs. we doing blocks." haha! I laughed out loud at how different it was to play with a little boy.
After school we picked up a very happy and excited little girl. She had a great first day sharing her treats and playing outside and doing all sorts of things. We went and got donuts to celebrate and took them to the park and played. When we got home she had pictures and treasures to show us from her backpack and even told us the story of the "gingerman" that they had read. She said "I just love school mom! I just love it!" And I just love her.
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