ABC and 123

Any of you with Facebook probably remember the overwhelming theme on your newsfeed from a couple of months ago ... "Back to School!" It seemed like every post was a status update or a shared (and reshared...) blogpost about starting school in the Fall. It was so precious seeing pictures of kids trying to stand up straight while holding a backpack twice their size. And the Moms who had it together posted those great pictures of their kids holding a sign announcing their first day of 1st grade! Super cute.

As I read my friends' status updates about tears shed and kids growing up too fast, and read blogs about how to send your kids to school in a way not to worry about them, etc., I realized my sentiments didn't really match those of most of the Moms I was hearing from. My girls started a Mother's Day Out program two days a week at a nearby church. As I sent them off on their first day I have to say the only thing I felt guilty about was that I wasn't feeling guilty or emotional about sending them to school. But I had to remind myself that people are all different, which is a beautiful thing. And instead of feeling bad that my emotions weren't the same as most other Moms (at least who were sharing their feelings on FB or a blog), I had to make myself step back and just enjoy hearing about my friends' experiences, smile or laugh out loud with them at the responses of their kids, and just appreciate the dynamic tapestry of life being played out in that significant moment. So now, after enjoying hearing from everyone else, I'm going so share my own experience (only 2 months late...).

 

School time for our family has been a time of complete JOY! I have enjoyed every minute of it! Well, OK, so I don't really enjoy packing lunches or especially cleaning out the lunch box when they return. But I definitely never fail to appreciate how stinkin' precious it is to see Jade try to put on her backpack and walk to the car without falling over. And I always smile (while rolling my eyes) when Sydney, upon arriving at school and seeing a friend in the parking lot, immediately jumps out of the car forgetting her backpack and lunchbox, and even to close the car door. The girls absolutely love their school time, and I have to say I absolutely love my time at home when they're at school :) No tears shed at this home over starting school :)

I'm totally not one of those pinterest-inspired super Moms who took all sorts of cute pictures on the first day. But luckily, my friend Chelsea got a few pictures. Chelsea's boys, Logan and Koi, also attend the Mother's Day Out program and are Sydney and Jade's best friends. And yes, if they got married, we would have the cutest grandkids ever. Look at all those cute faces!!

Koi and Jade trying to figure out what's happening

Sydney and Logan totally rockin' their new school gear

Sydney is in the preschool class which is the oldest class at the school. There are 11 kids in her class, and, since she is our little social bug, she seems to be best friends with all of them. Her teacher is Ms. Joslin. Sydney absolutely eats up everything about school. She loves her teacher and her friends and loves learning just as much. Lately she transitioned from a coloring phase (one day she colored for 6 hours!) into a drawing and letter writing phase. She draws at least 10 pictures a day and writes random letters all over them. Among the jumble of letters I usually find her name and Logan's name, along with a few other small words she knows how to spell. I enjoy looking for words that she creates unknowingly in her random production of letters. One page had the word "poop" hidden throughout several times. Apparently she was learning about "P" and "O" :)

Sydney drew this before school this morning

Jade is in the youngest class, which is the 2-year-olds. Her teacher is Ms. Anna, and Jade talks about her all the time. Although Jade is very talkative at home, she is usually pretty quiet around other people. Ms. Anna has shared that she is enjoying hearing Jade talk more and more at school. Lately, Jade has apparently been singing a lot at school, because it's usually mentioned on the daily report. This is so funny and cute to me because, well, between the two of our daughters Jade did not get the singing gene... But it's still pretty stinkin' precious to hear. Her class has nap time at the end of the day, so it is always a great sight to see five little bodies passed out on their mats when we go to pick her up. They are pretty precious.

So there's a quick update on our joyful school months so far! My next two blogposts will be follow-up from the "Being Still" post, so be looking for them soon! And they actually will come out soon, because I've got a deadline by which to get them done (aka - before going into labor!).