Little Sis Had Her First Day of School! Here’s How It Went…

Last week, our youngest started an early education/daycare program where she will be going to “school” for a few hours a day, which means that all three of our kids are officially in some form of schooling this year.

It’s weird. It’s different. It’s new. And so far, it’s been great for all of them, including (thankfully) little sis. When I woke her up on her first day, the very first words that came out of her mouth were, “I want to eat cake” which made me laugh and think that yes, I, too want cake as soon as I wake up. A girl after my own heart.

I was worried that with cake on the brain so early in the morning, sis would be less than enthusiastic about going to school. Nonetheless, she brushed her teeth, got dressed, PJ did her hair, and we both drove her to school after dropping the boys off. She was ready.

Once we got there, we walked her to her classroom and signed her in. We said goodbye and bent down to hug her, and she surprised us by running into each of our arms and giving us the biggest hugs!! It was adorable and so sweet and I think it was what we both needed in order to actually let her go in. A part of me didn’t want to let go of her! For some reason it was a little harder to say goodbye to her than it was to either of the boys. Why was that?

I think it’s because she is still younger than they were when they started school, so it feels like we should have more time at home with her. And we went over that again and again this past year: should we keep her home with us while the boys go to school? Surely the individual time and attention would be beneficial for her? We could teach her so much with just her being home!

In the end, though, we agreed that what she would get from being in a school-setting outweighed what we could do for her at home, to a certain extent. She loves to draw and do crafts and she needs social time with kids her own age (something she was robbed of last year), things we literally couldn’t give her if she stayed home.

When we got back from dropping her off, I realized just how quiet the house was. Again, it was weird, different, new. The house hadn’t been that quiet for almost two years! Still, I found myself missing her throughout the day, wondering what she was doing and if she was having a good time on her first day.

A few hours later, we picked her up from school, eager to hear all about how her day went. In short: it was a success! PJ asked her how many kids were in her class and she hilariously answered, very matter of factly, “All of them.” Genius. Does she even know how funny she is?

She calls school her teacher’s house and her classmates her sisters. Y’all. I could eat this child she is so scrumptiously cute. Who says things like this! Her teacher told me yesterday at pickup that she was the only kid in class who tried a little bit of everything for lunch at least once (including coleslaw!). Isn’t that great? She doesn’t eat like that at home (she’s so picky), but I’m over the moon that she does at school. 

So far, going to school has been nothing but a great experience for her. I’m dreading the day when getting her (or any of them) out of bed and out the door in the morning becomes a chore, because right now all we have to say is “time for school!” and they all eagerly leap out of bed. I guess a year and a half at home will do that to you.

The birds have started to chirp this morning, and though it’s rainy and dark, the sun will be coming up soon. I’m finishing my coffee and then it’ll be time to get everyone up for another day of school drop-offs and pick-ups. And I know I speak for all of us when I say not even a little rain will dampen our excitement for another day of school.

Here we go!