Today was Carolyn’s first official day of preschool for the year!
She looks so much older than last year!
The morning went surprisingly smoothly, despite Anna having a diaper blowout moments before we were all going to walk out the door. We even got to the school with enough time to spare that I could get Anna out of the carseat and into a sling. (I hate carrying that bucket seat around!) After we said goodbye (and I chased Carolyn down for a kiss, she had already run off to play with the other kids) Anna and I headed to the parent “reception”, where we met a few potential new friends – exciting! This year, because I could tell Carrie was happy and excited, I wasn’t at all sad about leaving her there. Next year, when she gets on the bus…well, I’ll just have to have some tissues in my pocket, I’m sure!
Carolyn loved her first day. She was just a tiny bit sad because she really loved her teachers last year, but she’s already made a couple of new friends and I think it helped that the routine is pretty much the same as last year.
It was surprising to me that Carolyn’s not the only not quite four year old in her class – until I found out that half of her class is going to go to the public school’s pre-k program next year instead of on to kindergarten. I’m not being judgmental – every parent has to decide what’s best for their own child – but it’s puzzling to me how many people hold their fall birthday kids back a year. (The cutoff around here is currently 12/1, although there’s been talk – for years – about that getting pushed back.) It’s going to make Carrie by far the youngest in her class in kindergarten. Oh, well, I’m sure she’ll do fine anyway!