This is a post I've been writing in my head for the past three weeks. Sydney started Kindergarten and Austin started Preschool!! I hate that it has taken me this long to have time to write it because now they have been in school for 3 whole weeks! But let me back up and start at the beginning.
Our journey to Kindergarten was at times an emotional roller coaster for me. It started last summer (2010) before Sydney started VPK. I was really pondering the idea of homeschooling her for elementary. There is a huge homeschooling community in our town and I have so many friends that do it....it is far from a foreign idea to me. Ideally I love the thought of homeschooling. Knowing that you are your child's main influence on a daily basis, having complete control over what they learn and how they learn, keeping them sheltered from the scarey world we live in, the list goes on. But my two hesitations were my photography business and Austin - two huge stumbling blocks to focus and productivity. :) So off to VPK she went last year. And I realized that Sydney is not me as a child. She is very social and very smart. She doesn't have much fear and makes new friends very easily. I was a very shy child, and she is just the opposite. She loved going to school 5 days a week. And then this summer (2011), she got very bored being home every day. I tried to keep us busy, but it was too hot to do much outside. And trying to do activities (art or eductional) inside was difficult because Austin is almost always in seak and destroy mode. They fought all summer, hit each other stole each other's toys, etc, etc. It was a very long summer. During this time Tom and I were struggling with where to send her to school (homeschool is not the answer for us at this stage of life). After many months, we finally decided she would attend the brand new elementary school we are zoned for. It is a very nice school with all the latest technology and it's within walking distance of our house.
All that to say, Sydney started Kindergarten this year. Ahh!! How is this possible? A couple weeks before school started we had a fun shopping trip with Grandmommy to buy school supplies and uniforms. Then I came home and packed her backpack and set up a new section of her closet for white/navy/hunter green tops (quite different from all the pink!). Finally the first day had arrived. We got up early and I packed her a lunch. Austin stayed home with Tom and we drove off to her new BIG school. I walked in with her and waited in the hallway for the bell to ring (I think I was more anxious than she was). Then I went into her class with her to help her find her cubby and her desk. By the time she sat in her seat, she started to get scared. When I told her I had to leave, she started to cry. I had overstayed my welcome. Luckily the teacher said it only lasted a couple of minutes after I was gone. When we picked her up in the car line (which took 45 minutes the first day!), she hopped in the car and said "I LOVE kindergarten!". Thank you God! She quickly adapted to her new environment and has loved it every day so far. Here's how the next few days and weeks went:
Day 2: Austin and I walked her to her hallway. Upon entering her hallway she said "I know where my class is, I can find it from here".
Day 3: First time dropping off in the car line. She was worried about getting lost, so one of the patrols helped her find her way.
Day 5: "I'm going to try to find my way by myself today Mommy!" Ok...and she did.
Week 2, Day 1: Left Austin at home with Tom again. Car line was long, so we parked on the street and walked together to the school. I planned to walk her to the gate by her classroom, but as soon as we got to the front of the building she said "I want to try to find it by myself Mommy. Please stay here". Hugs and kisses and she walked away from me, with her backpack almost as big as she is. (sniff, sniff)
Week 2, Day 3: They built a sidewalk from the street to the school. I said, "Sydney, one of these days I could probably park here on the street and you could walk down that sidewalk to school by yourself." Sydney said, "I think today would be a good day to try it." Really?! So I pulled over and she walked down the big, long sidewalk all by herself. And that's what we've done ever since!
Austin also started school this year. All of last year I was involved with a couple of different Bible studys during the week, which meant he spent time in church nurseries two mornings a week. So we decided to put him in preschool just two mornings a week so he would have a more structured setting. The preschool that Sydney attened no longer has part time options. So we found a great little school that I really love so far. The really cool thing is his teacher has been good friends with Tom's parents for over 20 years. So it's very special having Austin in her class.
He really enjoyed the student open house we went to the day before his first day. He loved all the toys he found. His actually first day, he was less than thrilled. Most of the 12 other 2 year olds in his class were in tears, so he started to cry when I handed him to the teacher. But I stuck around and peaked through the door after a few minutes to check on him. He was sitting quietly in his chair looking around at all his upset little friends. Such a sweet heart! On day 2, we got there a little early and his teacher wasn't ready for him yet. When she stuck her head out and said it was time to come in, he jumped off my lap and said "It's time to go Mommy!". He put his backpack by his black crayon name tag, put his snack in the snack bucket, and walked right in to find his seat. Every time we drive to his school, he asks to go home, but he never cries when I drop him off. And yesterday was the first time he told me how much fun he had while he was there! Yay!
I am personally loving our new structured schedule. Obviously it's great having a little bit of time to myself on Tues and Thurs mornings. Austin and Sydney are getting along great now that they have some time away from each other. Each day when we pick up Sydney, Austin asks, "Sydney, did you have fun today?". It's so adorable. :) When we get home they usually just play all afternoon until Tom gets home. No more sitting in front of the tv all the time, no more screaming/biting/fighting with each other (for the most part). It's great! Homeschool is still a possibility in the future - especially middle school - but for now I have a great peace that we're doing exactly what we should be doing.
Here are some pictures of Sydney's first day of school. Unfortunately I accidentally deleted the pictures of Austin's first day before I downloaded them off my camera.
All ready to go!
Waiting in the hallway for the bell to ring...
Finding her cubby...
At her desk...starting to look scared because she knows I'm about to leave. :(
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