First Day of Kindergarten

Today was Nani's first day of Kindergarten! She was so excited and was just bouncing off the walls!


Yesterday we had an orientation/screening meeting with her teacher. Her teacher, Miss Hartline, is very sweet and the classroom is very open and inviting and has wall-to-wall bookshelves which made mommy very, very happy!

My Marine had to miss her first day this morning thanks to a 4:30am mission. So I woke up Nani to get her ready to go! She had her outfit all picked out (one of the ones we got with the gift certificate from Target), complete with pink sparkle sneakers.

After a special "First Day of School" breakfast of smiley face pancakes, we took our traditional first day of school pictures in the front yard by the tree.

Then we put Nudgie in the stroller and headed off to school!

Once we got to school, they had an area set up for each class with the teacher's name. We just waited until they came to get them. So we took some more pictures while waiting!

Then it was time to let her go. I had been giving her hugs and kisses all morning, but I still wanted that last hug and kiss before she went into the classroom....but she didn't give me that chance. The doors opened, the teachers came out and she was off and running without even a glance back. It broke my heart just a little bit, but I knew that this was the best thing for her....no clinging, no last goodbyes, just jumping in feet first!

The staff invited the parents to the library for a little social time. They had us write a letter to our child for their first day of school -- what our hopes and dreams are for them, etc. Then they gave us a little Kindergarten care package which included a cotton ball (to remember her gentle spirit), a Kleenex (to wipe away the tears), and a tea bag (to sit, relax, and reflect).

All too soon it was time to pick her up again. The morning really did fly -- for both of us. When I asked her how her morning was, the first thing she talked about wasn't about reading, coloring, or playing outside.....but about her teacher's outfit.

Nani: "Mommy -- the teacher wore a silky black and white skirt with a black shirt. She also wore black high shoes. But she didn't wear any jewelry. She needed some jewelry mommy!"

(Sigh).......maybe I should have signed her up for Project Runway instead!

But once we got home, she did open up more -- and gave me the special surprise they made in school today -- a tracing of her handprint with a heart sticker in the middle - and a poem based on the book "The Kissing Hand."   And mommy cried -- again.

And we get to do it all again tomorrow!