First Days

She did it!  That was the message I sent to Graham and grandparents as soon as Addy was on her way to school that first day.  The beginning of the year last year was rough - there was crying, clinging on to mom and dad, and it went on for weeks.  Thank goodness for her very patient and kind teachers.  But last year was a year full of growth - for her, and for all of us.  With the help of a child psychologist who taught Addy some techniques for managing her worries and other big feelings that sometimes get the better of her, and again, her patient and kind teachers, Addy finished up the school year loving it.  She was excited for this year but I have to admit that with the move, a new school, new teachers, new kids, I was nervous.

That first morning, though, wow.  She was a rock star.

Our big 1st grader!

Patiently waiting for the bus

So excited to be a bus rider!

Her only disappointment from the first day...no homework!

I did have one moment of panic...my phone rang at about 11:30am.  It was the school.  My stomach sank, I thought to myself, "okay, we made it 3 1/2 hours...that's pretty good, right?"

Teacher: "Hi, this is Marta Pardee, Addy's teacher."
Me:  "Hi.  How are you?"
Teacher:  "Good.  First day's going well.  I like to check in with students at the beginning of the year to see if they have any questions, concerns...  [[I'm thinking to myself, goodness knows what Addy brought up!]] ...if they know how they get to and from school.  Addy knows she is supposed to take the bus home in the afternoon but she doesn't know what bus."
Me:  [[After a brief pause]] "Yes, bus 33.  Sorry about that [[holding back my laughter so she doesn't think I'm a totally crazy parent]], guess we never talked about the ride home."

Addy and I talked for days about how the first day was going to go...giving her the opportunity to ask any questions she had, we took a tour of the school, played on the playground, we had a plan for that morning down to what she was going to eat.  We've learned that when we can predict Addy's going to be nervous, having little to no opportunity for question or need for a decision from her helps.  Have a plan and then just follow it.  We had everything planned out for that morning and for the beginning of the day.  However, we were so focused on the morning, we forgot about the afternoon!  Of course she doesn't know what bus to take home - I never told her!  Oops.  My bad.

But on to our other rock star.  Cora could not wait for her first day of school.  She was literally singing and dancing around so much I could hardly get her picture.

Such a big smile, she hardly has eyeballs!

Dancing with the sign

Taking the sign for a walk

In front of her cubby

We walked in, hung up her stuff, found her name card to check-in, washed hands, and walked into the room for morning meeting.  Other grown-ups were there with their kids, some sitting on the rug with kids in their laps, others leaning against the wall.  I asked Cora, "How you doing?  Are you ready to say goodbye to Mommy once morning meeting starts?" She replies, "Yes" and gives me a great big hug and kiss.  So I go stand against the wall while she plays with the pretend kitchen.  One of her teachers rings the morning bell and she comes right over to the rug and finds a spot to sit.  The teacher starts talking and Cora looks over to me...she waves and whispers, "okay, Mom, you can go now."  I smile and wave, but I don't quite leave yet, I'm listening to the morning song as they introduce all the kiddos.  Cora looks over again, "It's okay mom, you can leave now."  Wave, wave.  Okay, kid, message received.  I turn to leave as the other parents around me are cracking up.  Apparently I was cramping her style.

And this is how I found her at pickup time...jumping in a puddle and absolutely covered in mud with a huge smile.  It was a good day.  Her only disappointment from the first day...that she doesn't get to go everyday!