First Day......

Right from the beginning, we always thought we would home school our kids. Zach was home schooled for part of elementary school and he loved it. Our idea has always been that our kids would probably spend some of their school years with us, and some going to school. I had actually thought we would have them stay home for elementary school and then revisit our options as they got older, and Kai had always been adamant that he wanted to stay home. And then we went to France, and, as much fun as he had there, he missed his friends and expressed a deep desire to go to Kindergarten. And really, who are we to deprive him of the magic of Kindergarten? I still remember so much from my year with Mrs. Soper, a woman so wonderful that all other teachers are judged by her glory. In fact, to this day she still remembers her students' names and many details of their lives, and whenever I run into her at the farmers market or the store I act like my 5 year-old self and throw myself into her arms for one of her fabulous hugs. She insists I call her by her first name, but I CAN NOT DO IT. She will always be Mrs. Soper to me.

Yesterday was Kai's first day of Kindergarten. He was nervous and excited and both of those emotions have been the talk of the house for the last week as we have been helping him process this important transition. Hilda went into his room yesterday morning as he was making his bed and overheard him quietly practicing saying his teacher's name.

"Excuse me, Mrs. Hammett?" and "Mrs. Hammett, I have a question."

This child will brake your heart with his absolute sweetness.

Our town has 1/2 day Kindergarten, and Kai has the afternoon session, so we went out to breakfast and to the store and in the process ran into half the town coming back from dropping off their morning session kids or their 1st graders. There was lots of talk of tears (mostly on the parents' side) and a few traumatic drop-offs for new 1st graders going to full day school for the first time. But also lots of stories of kids who were excited and giddy and brave and held it together even as their parents started to lose it.

We had breakfast and ran a few errands and went home. Kai played with Lego's and had a snack and I packed his lunchbox and water-bottle and put it all in his back-pack. He changed into clean clothes and brushed his hair and all of a sudden it was time to take my oldest child to school.

He put on his back-pack and said a loving good-bye to his sister and brother.

And it was time to go.

We were the first ones there, and Mrs. Hammett greeted him happily. He learned where to hang up his his back-pack and where to put his lunch. He inspected the class room and asked lots of questions. Then the next 2 kids arrived and Mrs. Hammett asked him if he could show them where they could put their things, so of course he felt very important and proud to do that. Then he and the kids started playing while the teacher went over paperwork and schedules with the parents and suddenly it was time for me to go.

I asked him if it was OK for me to go and he just gave me a big hug and said "Yup. Bye Mom, I love you."

So I left.

And went home where Grace was having a play date with her friend Anna, and her mom and I made a tea party for lunch. We cut the sandwiches into flower shapes and broke out my great-grandmothers china and had "tea with the queen."

With polite conversation, of course, and a study of exactly how to hold your pinkie when drinking a cup of tea.

Noah was practicing his words and has finally learned to say "Hil..DA!"

A feat that amuses him to no end.

And then it was time for me to go pick up Kai. I parked across the street from the school, and he saw me walking over the green and yelled a cheery "Hi mom!" Then he talked as fast as humanly possible for the 5 minute drive home. When we pulled into the driveway and he was getting out of the car he said "MOM! That was SO good. I wanna go, like a BILLION more times!"

Yeah, it worked out just fine.