First Day of Kindergarten

Keira successfully completed her first day of kindergarten - as far as I know, anyway. We started the morning off well and right on time. I even had time to do a fancy braid in her hair. I should've remembered to take pictures of that. Oh, well. There was too much on my mind for the first day of school as it was.

On our front stoop with her enormous backpack

Daddy and daughter outside of her new school

Because of our work schedules Keira will have to go to before and after-care. That's where the trouble started. Because the program includes kids from kindergarten through 5th grade, Keira found herself immersed in a frenzy of kids talking, working on projects, playing games, etc. It was a lot for her to take in. Keira was definitely a very little fish in a very big pond. She clung to my leg and hid behind me - something she hasn't done since she was a toddler. I stayed with her to try and acclimate her, but it was pretty tough. A couple of times she was near tears. Luckily, her teacher, Ms. Franzen, had given her (and the other kindergarteners in her class) a yellow patch of felt. She told the kids they should bring this to school and when they missed their parents or got a little sad or anxious, they could rub it to comfort themselves. Keira did just that and it really helped. No tears were spilled. She also has a friend, Jalen (a second-grader), in the program and he was really helpful. He told her she shouldn't be afraid to ask questions and that everything would be okay. Apparently he told his mom tonight that he'd take good care of her. What a lucky girl!

At long last (I kept getting more anxious as I needed to get to work and wasn't sure if Keira would move past the first-day jitters) the kids were dismissed to go play on the playground before the bell sounded for school to begin. Keira instantly perked up when she heard she'd get to go outside and play. One of the program leaders, Ryan, took Keira under his wing and I left.

I was bummed I wouldn't get to see her officially start class, but my wonderful friend shared photos she took of Keira with her son, Max. It's comforting knowing she has a good friend in her class.

Max and Keira pose for the camera (not sure who the other friend is)

Lining up to go with her teacher and start school

There she goes...with her enormous backpack

As you can imagine, I was anxious to hear all about her first day of school. I was pleased to find that she was having a blast when I picked her up from after care. She told me she had met two little girls, but couldn't remember their names and that they were now friends. That was really nice to hear. That was about it though. When I asked her what she did and what her favorite part of the first day was, she answered, "I don't know. I don't remember anything." Well, that's just great.

She did manage to tell me that it was my fault she forgot to eat her Gogurt that I packed for her for snack time. She said she couldn't remember and that I didn't remind her. Well, fact is, I reminded her several times the previous night when I was packing her snacks and also before bed. Then I also reminded her when I packed her snack bag in her backpack and again when we got in the car. Oh, and did I forget the time I reminded her during the before-school program and once more before I left? Maybe I reminded her too much that she stopped listening. Her solution? She said, "Mom. Maybe you should call me tomorrow during school and remind me." Yes. Yes. It's totally my fault and I should call your school to remind you about eating your snack. And so it begins...

How was everyone else's first day of school experience?