It’s hard to believe it’s been a year…
…a year since I signed my girls up for preschool.
…a year since I lost sleep over whether it was the right
decision.
…a year since we visited the girls’ classroom and met their
teachers.
And it’s even harder to believe it’s been nine months since
preschool started…
…nine months since I choked back tears, reading “The Kissing
Hand” on the first morning of school.
…nine months since the girls so bravely walked into their
classroom for the first time, their heads held high after a super-quick hug and
kiss for their mommy.
…nine months since I first walked away, leaving my girls in
the care of someone else.
Heading to their first day of school, hand in hand. |
And???
I am so very thankful to say it’s been a truly wonderful
experience…for them…and for me.
The reservations I had about signing the girls up this year
were several-fold. I was afraid we’d
lose the beauty of our “organic” schedule.
I was afraid the girls would be forced to mature at a rate faster than
what they otherwise would. And – frankly
– I was afraid of outside influences beyond my control.
None of these fears have come to fruition, though.
True, there was very little “organic” about Tuesday and Thursday
mornings. We had a schedule, and we
stuck to it to get to school on time.
The other days of the week, thankfully, were unencumbered. The beginning of school didn’t make the girls
any more antsy to go and do. They were
no less content to play quietly at home.
Their pretend scenarios were as involved as ever, sometimes even more
so, as they incorporated themes from school.
Perhaps it was just the luck of the draw, but we feel so thankful
that the five other families in their preschool group were such nice
folks. At least relative to the six
hours a week the kiddos were together, and a handful of extra-curricular
get-togethers and birthday parties, everyone seemed to have the same basic
value systems. We’d be happy to have any
of their classmates’ families to our house, and I think that’s a huge blessing.
The last day of school, with twin classmates K & K. |
And lastly, my baby girls are still my baby girls. They’re still my sweet, precious, unassuming
babies. They’re kind and gentle and
curious. They haven’t suddenly started
rolling their eyes, or feigning embarrassment, or talking like Valley girls. I credit this to the wonderful families of
their classmates, and also to the no-nonsense approach taken by their teachers.
So what have we gotten from preschool???
The girls have gotten lots of alphabet practice. They’ve made so many wonderful crafts every
week. They’ve learned some new
songs.
Silly faces for Silly Day in November. |
What’s much, much more, though…the girls have made
friends. They’ve played together as part
of a group, and separate from each other.
They’ve learned to follow rules, and to respect their teachers’
authority. And they’ve enjoyed a little
bit of space apart from me. They’ve been
able to tell me stories about what they did, and answer questions to which I
didn’t already know the outcome.
All in all, it’s been a priceless experience…everything I
could have hoped for, and none of that I feared. And we are very thankful.
This will no doubt go down as one of my favorite pictures, from the last day of school. |
6 comments:
How sweet! So glad that they (and you) had such a wonderful experience. I love the silly face picture!
How wonderful that your little babies have had such a great first year of school. Now, to enjoy your summer!!!
AWWWWW. love this.
....and the valley girl comment made me giggle a bit. occasionally, m will bust out with something that sounds a little valley girlish and i will roll my own eyes.
true, the girls in her class are very disney and dramatic, but she plays with the boys, too. she still comes up with her own scenarios, and she is still super thoughtful.
i'm so glad that you were able to have a good experience. and i'm glad the girls loved it. are they doing preschool next year, too? or will they be starting kindergarten? i can't remember if we've had the discussion about age cut offs or not??
So glad they enjoyed their new experience and you did too :)
I'm so glad the experience was all you hoped it would be. That last picture was priceless!
Ah you see - a great experience
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