The Next Chapter!

...and so it is finished. The day that has been looming on the horizon. The day that brings dread, nervousness, jitterness, excitement, pride, and tears all in one.

Isabella had her first day of kindergarten on September 7th and it went great! Upon pickng her up, I asked her what the best part was and she said it all was great. Her teacher, Mrs. Bina, has Isabella's approval and Isabella particularly likes her curly hair, saying that her teacher looks like an angel. She chose to bring cold lunch for her first day and sat by the other little girl that brought cold lunch and observed that this girl had hair like Jasmine. She told us that she worked on the #1, was quiet during rest time, worked on her number page during snack time, went to the library, and of course eagerly reported on the boy who got in trouble and had to leave the room...Isabella thinks he might be a little too young for kindergarten. She really liked her gym teacher, saying he was silly and said he would bite them, but it was just teasing.
I got to the school a bit early to pick her up and was able to peek in on her. It was play time and she was playing with wood blocks with a couple of other kids...always a comfort to not see your child sitting in the corner looking lonely!

On our way out to the car she scolded me for not having her wear her gym shoes and thanked me for the note I'd left in her lunch box...smile! Isabella was excited to discover mini cupcakes for a special after school snack and her very favorite for dnner - Cheeseburger Soup!

The rest of her first week went as well as one could wish for! Each day when I picked her up she was excited about the day's happenings! She had hot lunch one day during the week and was very excited about it and that she enjoyed what they made! She exclaimed to me that it was 'the best day ever'!!! She did well memorizing her lunch code but did not need to use it this week...next week she will if she has hot lunch!

Isabella loves gym time and thinks Mr Potter is super fun! She has shown us different exercises they do and really enjoyed the parachute and playing with balls.
She also eagerly sang for us the song her music teacher used to welcome them:
Teacher: Good Morning Kindergarten
Isabella: than we sang 'Good Morning Mrs.....uh I can't remember her name. Than she sang 'How are you today'.
Isabella sang all of this to us as they did in class which was a hoot!

We heard all about Mary Jane having to sit out of recess because she did not line up when Mrs. Bina blew the whistle for two days. Our neighbor friend Becky also told us how Isabella sat by her daughter, Bryn on the playground when Bryn was crying because she had fallen and hurt herself...that made my heart happy. On Friday there was no recess because of rain, so she told us about how all of the kindergarten classes got to watch 'Clifford' instead.
We also heard all about the boy who had to have a time out in the hall and the girl who kept getting up during rest time. When we asked her if Mrs. Bina ever had to talk to her or remind her of the rules, she confidently said, "No"...hopefully that answer was accurate:)

Very quickly we started hearing the names of kids from her class in bedtime prayers and requests to have so and so over to play sometime. She also would quickly find a classmate to sit with at their dropoff spot in the morning. She would tell us about the kids she played with at free play and lots of different names came up - both boys and girls.

The days I picked her up, I would head down to the classroom to peek in, intending to head back to the doorway to wait for Isabella, but she would see me and her teacher would send her out to me. On Friday, Bryan picked her up and waited by the door. He said it was really cute because when her class came out and she went over to him, all the kids in her class were saying, "Bye Isabella" and waving at her! Including Al, a little boy who Bryan helped find the classroom the first day:) Isabella said Al is getting less shy:) I love her observations. It seems so silly, but it helps your heart...kids are saying goodbye to her, they must be getting along ok...it just helps! She is pretty social, so that helps:) But we talk a lot about looking for kids who seem lonely or sad or in need of a friend and being that friend for them.

So it seems the school days have gone well! But the nights...oh my! From what we have heard from fellow friends, all of us are in the same boat! Our little lady is EXHAUSTED after school and a jumble of emotions...one minute happily talkative, the next grumpily complaining the doesn't want to talk anymore, one minute extremely lethargic, the next minute on a crazy hyper out of control energy high! It is tough! She's gone all day and the little time you have together after school is not so enjoyable! But we know this shall pass...it's part of the transition, the adjustment to a new routine!

And speaking of routine, I put ones in place for morning, after school, and bedtime and held strictly to them all week, which really seemed to help us. Mornings are the same - get dressed, eat breakfeast, brush teeth and hair, than we can read a book or chill out til it is time to leave. We didn't have one morning where we felt like we were rushing...it was awesome. After school the backpack is emptied of papers on the landing, than put away along with shoes, than up to the kitchen where snack it waiting. Bedtime is pj's and pick out clothes for the next day (which cannot be changed in the morning:), snack, brush teeth, books, bible, and bedtime.

I'm looking forward to getting to know Isabella's teacher better in the coming weeks, along with hopefully becoming more familiar with her classmates, and come up with a way to get to know their parents better! Yep, I'm that annoying parent!:)