We officially have a KINDERGARTENER!
(And a 2nd grader, to be fair, haha!)
The last few days have been jam-packed as we prepped for the start of school, so to some extent this morning felt more like a finish line than a starting line — although the 180 early-morning alarms set on my phone say otherwise. ;)
I can’t believe we are officially an Elementary School Family! Woo hoo! Cricket has been looking forward to this day for…well, forever. That being said, we’ve had some bumps over the past few days as Cricket’s wrestled with the realization that she will always be younger than Emma Vance. (“But will she be a teenager first? NOOOO!”) However, I just tried to keep her eyes on the prize: You finally get to be at school with Emma Vance! And wear a uniform! And go to the school library! And have art and music and P.E.! For the most part, Cricket’s been able to recover, but I was honestly worried for minute there this morning…
My two girls clambered confidently through the parking lot with their oversized backpacks bouncing around behind them. (Emma Vance chose a glitter bomb and Cricket a glow-in-the-dark one, and each wore theirs with pride.) Then, as we waited to be let in (our school allows parents to walk their children to class on the first day of school), Cricket pulled me down to whisper in my ear.
Can E.V. hold my hand and walk me to lunch in the cafeteria today? I don’t know how to get there.
(Oh, sweet girl.)
Eye-to-eye, I assured Cricket that her teacher would help her with everything she would need to know and offered to have E.V. walk with us to the kindergarten hall for drop-off. My littlest’s fears were calmed for a moment, and we wove our way through the halls filled with excitement and energy and tiny footsteps.
Cricket wasn’t shy or teary as we walked her into her classroom, clutching her wolf mascot stuffy. Emma Vance and I watched as she hung up her backpack and found her seat with confidence. Then she gave us big hugs…and suddenly the panic set in. She begged for us to stay. She held back tears. She hid behind my legs. All of which is normal, but still not exactly what you hope for when dropping your littlest off at big kid school for the first time. I could feel her mood spiraling and a storm brewing, so I hugged her a little bit, said some words of encouragement, and then when all else failed, resorted to distraction. We walked Cricket over to the behavior chart where E.V. explained what all the colors and clips meant, and then I had an idea:
Hey, if you get a blue or a pink, Cricket, we’ll go to Menchie’s after school to celebrate your big first day.
And that did the trick. Whew. The storm subsided and Cricket immediately pushed us out of the room with a big wave and grin. NEVER underestimate the power of a little sugar. Was it my proudest moment in parenting? Nah. But it worked, and so I have no regrets. ;)
There will be many more first days of school for Cricket over the coming years, but this one was The One, so here’s to a good first First Day!
Kindergarten!
2nd Grade
sister // sister
(Early Morning Mom)
Ready. Set. GO!
