Monday was Jentry's last day at daycare and I let her stay home with me on Tuesday. We began our last day of summer celebration with doughnuts and juice at the bakery downtown. Jentry thought it was quite fun and to be honest so did I. It brought me right back to when my mom would take my sister and me to the little doughnut shop in Orleans on Saturday mornings. I remember how much of a treat that was. I would always get one glazed doughnut, one cake doughnut with sprinkles and a chocolate milk. Oh those were the days!
Next we loaded Jentry's very large pile of school supplies and paperwork into the car and headed to the school. We visited with the secretary and then headed down the halls to find Mrs. Ramer's classroom. She had the door and room decorated in a camping theme. Jentry found the desk with her name on it and we unloaded her supplies. Jentry was so excited to check out all the new things in the room. The bright colors, pictures, alphabet, white boards, smells, etc.....it was just too much for mom. It was like a glimpse of my childhood, which seemed so very long ago. How could life be moving so rapidly? How could my tiny 5 lb baby be going to Kindergarten? I started to tear up a bit. Jentry asked, why are you sad? I told her I was excited for her and was sad that I couldn't come to Kindergarten too. She laughed a little at my silly desire, took my hand and walked me out of the school. I couldn't even drop off her supplies without crying, how was I ever going to give her a hug and say goodbye for the day?
We had cereal and fruit for lunch and then headed to the pool for one last dip. Saying goodbye to the pool after so many days spent there was definitely bittersweet. I love our time there but like anything else, the fun begins to fade a bit with time and we start to long for the next season.
That night I read her the special book I had purchased, "The Night Before Kindergarten." She loved it and asked me to read it to her several more times. Next we got to open the special envelope from her teacher that we were not supposed to read until the night before school. It was a card with a poem and magic confetti to sprinkle under her pillow.
"The confetti will help you sleep through the night
And wake up in the morning fresh and bright."
Jentry looked at me with big, bright eyes and asked, "Are we really going to do that?"
Yes, we did and it worked like a charm. She was up early and eager to get to school. Her dad, Erica and brother Pace came to join the drop off fun. She got to show them her classroom and give us all a goodbye hug before joining her friends on the playground. It really went much better than I was anticipating. She was excited, confident and ready. I am not sure what I would have done if she would have been clinging to my hip saying, "I don't want you to leave." Pretty sure I would have taken her home for another year.
At 11:00 I went to help out with lunch. It may seem like a simple part of the day but the children are required to get their silverware, straw, napkin, milk, tray, and then serve their own food onto the tray. Most of the Kindergartners couldn't even see over the food bar! And if that was not enough, the kids have to remember their four digit lunch number. Yikes! It was quite an experience, however everyone got some food to eat, placed their trash in the cans and trays in the window. I think only one set of silverware ended up in the trash, which I think is was pretty darn good for the first day.
At 3:20 I was at the school excited to hear all about her first day. When she spotted me I was expecting a huge smile, run and hug kind of greeting. Instead she said, "What are you doing here?" Apparently her teacher had told her that she was riding the bus home. I did want her to eventually ride the bus home but thought I would be nice and pick her up the first few days. Nope, she wanted to ride the bus, so I got her on the right bus and said, "See ya at home." All the while hoping she would know where to get off. Several minutes later she hopped off the big yellow bus and came running up the street. I was very proud of her for being so courageous.
Once home, she told me that her favorite thing was the chocolate pudding at lunch and that some guy said to bring tennis shoes. Thankfully, her teacher sent home a very lovely note with some things to ask them about, or I would have gotten nowhere.
A snack and a few minutes on the coach was all it took to create this:
Ah, how I am going to love school!
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