The First Day is finally Here

Well, we finally got to the first day of school.  Wow, I can't believe my little bundle of joy is such a big girl.  The time has gone by so fast.  When I say school I mean Pre-Kindergarten, a non-mandatory prequel to what is to come.  Pre-K wasn't free when I was a kid, but for the last 5 or 6 years Oklahoma has offered free pre-k in their public schools, well to a small number of students (refer to my post about Grampy & Grammy sitting in a line all day for our spot).  So obviously we made it & Tatum has been excited all summer.  

Our plan was to walk to school this morning, but because of the looming rain clouds, we opted for driving to the pathway from our neighborhood to the school & walking across.  She even got the experience of walking with a crossing guard.  We entered to a sea of children waiting for the bell in the cafeteria.  I really think she was a little overwhelmed for about 2 seconds.  There were a lot of people that we knew from church or the gym, so that helped to make it a little more comforting. (I'm saying all of this to convince you & myself that she was just as nervous as I was.)  The bell rang & we walked in (at this point I've managed to keep my composure & keep the tears back) to a smiling teacher.  She walked over to put up her backpack & then picked out her name tag, she did let me put her name tag on her which made me feel good.  After a really long hug, a kiss goodbye, & final potty instructions I stood up to leave.  Tatum was off to dive into whatever the teacher had for her & Mrs. Westfahl sweetly told me to grab a parent bag as I left.  I've been doing real well to this point & then I opened the bag, saw the tissue, & began to read the poem inside...that's when I erupted, I couldn't hold back the tears anymore.  Why was I crying, she had gone to pre-school 2 days a week last year.  I guess I realized that this was it, the beginning of many years of school that will prepare her to be on her own, not needing Mommy as much.  I knew it would come, but as I said at the beginning did it have to come so fast?

So that was my experience of the first day of school, Tatum's was quite different.  She had a blast.  They sang songs, had story time, toured the school, & had recess (because of the weather it was inside so she got to play with the doll house).  She came home with a bag of magic playdough & a certificate stating she had a great first day of school.  When asked if she thought she would want to come back she said, "Well yeah, Mommy!".  

BTW Toby would never admit to this, but I'm pretty sure he had tears in his eyes, too, at least that's what I'm choosing to believe!

Here is a recap of the day in pictures:

Walking the path to school.

Don't you love her gigantic backpack?  And yes, I agreed to a character bag.

Waiting for the bell.  

Walking into the classroom, it looks like a real fun class!

Name tag on & ready for mommy & daddy to leave.

First day down, had a blast!

Here's the parent bag: tissue, cotton ball, tea bag, & the poem.