One week in to the girls’ preschool career, and I’m so
thankful to report we’re doing really well!
The girls had a great first day of school on Tuesday. I’m still a little baffled at the drop-off,
though. One moment, we were chatting in
the hallway with the other kids and parents.
The next moment, Mrs. E opened the door, asked the kids to put their
bags in their cubbies, and began motioning them to come into the
classroom. It all happened so fast! I managed to ask the girls for a quick hug
and kiss, wished them a great day, told them I’d see them in a little bit…and
they were GONE!
I know that was by design…no need to drag out a goodbye and
risk it being tearful (for the kids OR the parents!)…might as well jump in with
both feet, huh?
At pick-up on Tuesday, I half expected the girls to gallop
towards me at full speed and wrap their arms tightly around my neck. I certainly wasn’t wishing for a “promise-me-you’ll-never-leave-me-again”
plea, but I could envision that scenario.
Instead, the girls were both happy to see me, and I got a big hug from
them both, but they were more excited to tell me about everything they’d done.
On Tuesday afternoon and all day Wednesday, the girls were
singing a new song…something along the lines of “Clean up, clean up, everybody,
everywhere! Clean up, clean up,
everybody do your share!” I like
that!!! (I need to ask Mrs. E what the
melody is, though, as we’re all over the board here!)
The girls talked about their classmates a little bit, and about
playing “in the little house” and “the place where you jump” [there is a room
with indoor play equipment, since the weather didn’t permit them going outside
that day]. I know they sang a bear hunt
song (along the lines of a book we have).
B spilled some water while they had snack, but it dried and “it wasn’t a
problem”. They replayed bits of
conversation here and there, about what Mrs. E said, and what they said in
response.
On Wednesday, Baby B volunteered, “Mommy! I’m looking forward to
going to my school tomorrow!” Baby A agreed.
On Thursday morning, the girls got up, excited again for
school. Their backpacks came in the mail
on Tuesday afternoon, so they were anxious to transfer their things (a change
of clothes) from the bags they carried on Tuesday. They buzzed around and ate breakfast, got
dressed, willingly let me fix their hair, and we were off.
I got another quick hug and kiss on their way into their
classroom, but my little baby girls seemed so confident walking in. After school, I got more hugs, their eyes again
full of excitement about their day. Hanging
in the hallway I’d seen their handprints and footprints (!!!). They had to tell me about getting paint on
their feet, and then washing their feet in a little bucket. “There was a special cloth for drying our
feet. Mrs. G helped us,” B
explained.
But the girls’ crown jewel was a necklace they made of foam
beads. They were SO proud!!! They wore the necklace through lunch, finally
agreeing to take it off for nap. In the
afternoon, it was the first thing they put back on. They could not wait to show their daddy when
he got home from work.
Stepping back, I’m so very proud at how the girls have
handled this monumental transition. It
was barely six months ago that we still had the occasional tears at me leaving
the girls with Miss Jenny – at OUR house! – for a couple of hours. Until Tuesday, the girls had never been
anywhere without me…literally. Hubby has
once or twice taken them for a walk in the neighborhood, but that’s the extent
of their time away from Mommy.
I really agonized over the decision to start the girls in
school this year, versus waiting until next year. Seeing their excitement, though, and the
maturity with which they’ve handled this transition, has put most of my fears
at rest.
Further, I still have my “tiny
baby girls” when we’re at home together.
I know it’s only been two days, but my sweet baby girls are still my
sweet baby girls…maybe just with a little extra fodder for conversation and pretend
scenarios.
7 comments:
Oh they (and you) did so very very well. Btw we know the clean up song around here!
So glad they are loving it!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJ9uhDzN-rA
oh man, I'm glad they're loving it and that there's been no tears.
Just further confirmation that you have done a great job!
Glad it's going so well. I'm looking forward to hearing about my girls' first day in a few weeks.
oh my goodness...I can't believe its been 2+ weeks since you posted this - I'm THAT far behind. I'm so glad the first week went well and I hope they've continued to do so well!
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