Tag: First Day of School

Ellie’s First Day of School

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Today is Ellie’s very first day of school… EVER! Oh my goodness my baby is already in preschool. All I did was blink and now we live in Seattle and my youngest is starting school. Ellie was so excited and just like her sister it was hard to get her to settle down so that I could get her ready. I have a feeling Ellie will thrive just like here sister when it comes to school.
For her first day of school photo, I asked my little three year old what she wanted to be when she grew up. Without skipping a beat, she looked at me and said “a champion”. That’s our Ellie. She knows exactly what she wants.

Ellie’s first day of school picture. She wants to be a champion when she grows up! Yup, that sounds exactly like Ellie.
Walking into school with Abby and Daddy. She was so proud of her backpack and the fact that she was going to school.

In class, happy and painting… I think she is loving school already.
Enjoying a little bit of paint time on her first day.

When we arrived, Ellie was a little shy and clung to us a bit. By this point I was expecting a tearful meltdown when it was time for us to go. her teachers were great though, allowing us to hang a little and explore the classroom with her. Once we found her cubby and hung up her backpack, we took a look around. Every day when they come in to class they pick up their name tag and they get to choose their “greeting” for the day. They can choose to say hello, give a hug, give a high five, or shake hands with their teachers. Ellie, being Ellie, chose a high five.

After her greeting. Ellie immediately took to painting and seemed to melt right into what she was doing and started to smile and have fun. When it was time to go, she gave us hugs and kisses and said goodbye. We left without a tear. Another confident and happy Wharton kiddo. I was so proud.

At the zoo and so happy! I love this goofy little girl!
In the “penguin caves”. Can you tell Abby was less than a willing participant in this picture. Ellie was happy though!

After school, lunch and a long conversation about her first day of school we headed over to the zoo for member appreciation night. We thought it might be fun to go but soon found that it was a madhouse! I think just about every zoo member was there! We did what we could, visited the penguins and walked around a bit before bailing out on the night and heading home. From what we could tell, the zoo wasn’t expecting the turnout they had. Usually member appreciation night falls during rainy weather and keeps the crowds away, but tonight was beautiful and warm. Oh well… we will give it a try next year. Aside from the that, the day was wonderful and a great start to the year!

Abby’s First Day of School

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Before we made the move, Shaun and I started researching preschools in the area. We found a few and once we landed in Bothell we checked them out and took tours. The decision was quickly made and now its time for Abby’s first day of school! She was so excited to get ready and go, I could barely keep her still long enough to do her hair.
This year Abby is in Pre-K. Yes she turns five in less than a month (Lord help me) but the Kindergarten cutoff for the school system here is September 1st. Shaun and I thought about challenging it but then we realized that this gives her another year to learn and grow, to be a kid a little longer and truly prepare herself for next year. So on to Pre-K it is! Abby will start off in the afternoon class since we enrolled so late in the year, but we plan to move her to the morning class if something becomes available soon.
First day of Pre-K. At this moment, Abby wants to be a doctor when she grows up. It will be fun to see if this changes over the years, as I am sure it does with most kids.
Walking hand in hand with her best pal… her sister.
In her classroom and looking for her spot.
Happy and ready to get going!
Abby’s backpack hook and cubby. Another school year has begun!

When we arrived, Abby quickly settled in finding her cubby and the hook for her backpack. She took off to play and didn’t even look back. I love that she enjoys school this much and I hope that love continues on forever. We did find out from her teacher that a spot opened up in the morning class, so her time in the afternoon will be short lived. Luckily, Abby is adaptable and the quick change will be easy on her. We left without a hitch and let her enjoy the day.

When we picked Abby up she had so much to share with us. She made friends, painted, colored, sang and loved it all. I know because I asked her what her favorite part of the day was and she said “I loved it all!”. So glad to see that Abby is loving life and making herself at home!

Abby’s First Day of Preschool…

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Today was Abby’s first day of Preschool. Yup that’s right, our little girls is going to be in preschool! Pre-K for that matter. This time next year she will be starting Kindergarten! OK, I am getting ahead of myself there. Seriously though, today was her first day of Pre-K and I have to admit I was a bit nervous and emotional. Abby, on the other hand, was beyond excited. She hopped right out of bed, ran in to go potty and brush her teeth, then got dressed and was ready to go. Once we were all ready to go we took Ellie over to Nana’s house and then headed off to school.

When we arrived Abby could barely contain herself. Once she was out of the car she was headed up the sidewalk, saying to hello to all of the kids who passed by going to their classrooms. We even had a hard time getting a picture of her on her first day because she was too distracted by all of the children arriving for school. She was so excited that and of course that made both Shaun and I smile. We were so happy to see her excited to learn and make new friends.

When we arrived at her classroom, Room 2 to be exact, we quickly found her name tag and took one last picture in front of the welcome board. We walked Abby inside and before we could give her a kiss and a hug goodbye and tell her we would be back in a few hours and to have a great day, she was off to the rug where circle time was beginning. She sat down, talking to the children next to her and saying hello to one of her two teachers, Miss Betsie. And like that she was off to learn.

There were no tears or sad goodbyes, no “mommy and daddy please don’t go”, and no reassurance needed from the two people who have been her teachers to this point. I would be lying if I said that didn’t bother me just a bit. While most parents like to avoid the separation anxiety meltdown with their children, a part of you hopes there might be a few tears and a need for you to be there. But I should have known better. Abby is independent and pretty fearless. She loves to jump right in, especially when there are other children around. We had also discussed school with her and all of the fun things she might do and learn and her tour of the preschool before we enrolled showed her just how fun of a place this can be. She was ready to go and excited for the unknown ahead of her.

Really my reaction was selfish and I realized it the minute I started to think it. Instead I shed a few tears of joy and maybe just a few over the fact that our little girl was growing up. I was so proud to see her excited and ready to try new things. As a parent I can only hope that this excitement and curiosity continues throughout her life.

After we left, I counted down the time until I needed to go and pick her up. I busied myself with a few errands and chores around the house. Then finally it was time to head back to school and pick her up. I was there at the gate waiting. When we were let in and allowed to go to the room I found our girl sitting quietly in circle time listening intently to her teachers. When she saw me, her face lit up and once she was excused to leave she ran right to me, gave me a hug and then began to show me all of the items in her cubbie that we needed to take home. She had some newsletters and papers for me to read and then a picture of a “roller coaster” made with markers, crayons and colored tape. It was beautiful.

Abby then started telling me about her day, about the book they read with the raccoon family who were also starting their first day of school, they got to draw and color and to top it all off they got to paint (something she had wanted to do). She also played out in the yard with a few new friends, pretending to be pirates searching for treasure. She did find treasure, a coin and a dinosaur egg, hidden in the sand. From what I could tell it was the best first day ever.

As a treat I took Abby out to lunch, a place of her choosing, so we headed to Subway. Over sandwiches we continued to talk about her first day and what she hoped to do the next time she went to school. I watched her talk with such excitement and personality and it really began to sink on then how much she was growing. Wow… time flies. At that moment I did what I could to savor the moment and make it last for as long as possible. After all, this only happens once.