The Tale of a Cool Cat and a Little Lamb

Last Thursday was the first day of school - and this year, Jillian got to join in too! Going into this school year we had some big decisions to make. First, we had to think about if it was the right time to send Jillian to school. Meredith didn't start school until she was three, but she had been to day care and had also spent time with Aunt Sandy while I worked. So, we decided for lots of reasons, that school would be a great thing for Jillian this year. We are excited for her to learn to love independence from me (she always enjoys times at church or wherever even if I am not there, but she still protests going) and for her to get the benefit from other people teaching her. But the biggest decision we had to make this year was related to Meredith. The cut-off for Kindergarten is September 1, which means that she was eligible to go to Kinder this year, but that she would be the youngest in her class. We have known this is a decision we would have to make from the moment she was born and we have not taken it lightly as we have thought about it over the years. We weighed how she would do next year, of course, but also how she would do 3 years and even 12 years down the line. When it came down to it, sending a little girl, who would only be 4 for a good week or so of Kindergarten seemed crazy to me. Even crazier, is sending a 17 year old to college. We felt like giving her another year would help her to become a leader of her class and give her the confidence she needs to excel throughout her schooling. And when it came down to it, this decision gives me the opportunity to have her home with me a little longer - so a win-win, right?

Ok, so on to the first day!

My two big school girls! How excited they both look, right? Well this was many, many takes into the morning...
An outtake - this is mostly what Jillian had for me that morning!
Or there was this one. Morning is looking good, huh?
Jillian was most excited that she got to officially use all of her new gear (although she is a pro at her nap mat - she now ONLY sleeps on it.)
Meredith has been really excited to be a Cool Cat this year! She has two really amazing teachers, Mrs. Mays and Mrs. Guice. I have heard such great things about this class and these teachers! I met with Mrs. Mays last Spring to talk through our decision for the year and she was so great helping me through it.

I realized at meet-the-teacher day, that Meredith was actually a little nervous about her new class. Last year, her class was full of her old friends, but this year, she really didn't know any of the kids, so she was feeling a little "shy." I read a friend's blog, who got a bracelet for her daughter's first day of Kinder to remind her of her family, so I decided to try something similar. We bought a little fabric, then I wrote notes on the strands ("mommy is praying for you", "Philippians 4:6" - a verse I was working on teaching her, so she would remember to pray when she was nervous, etc.) then braided the pieces together. Then we made one for me, for daddy and for Jillian. Jillian didn't want to participate, but the rest of us wore them all day and used it as a reminder to pray. She said that looking at it helped her when she was missing us and it was a good reminder to me to keep praying for both my little girls, so it was a success!

Showing off her bracelet that she and I made together.
No picture taking opportunity would be complete without a silly face!
Jillian is a Little Lamb (but if you ask her, she tells you she is a Hippo). Her teachers are Ms. Nelda and Ms. Erica. They are both very sweet and patient. I actually knew them from 2 years ago when I picked up my friend's little girl from their class, so that has helped me to feel really great about sending my baby off! The other really great part of her class is that her bestie, Caleb is in class with her. His mommy and I had a little hand in that, but it has been really great for them (or at least we assume) in transitioning to school)


Hope you got what you needed, mom, cause I am ready to take my stuff and go.
Daddy joined us for the day!
These are their cute new backpacks with their names and their favorite animals (a hippo for Jillian and a turtle for Meredith).

Both girls did great at drop-off - Jillian cried some, but went much more willingly than I expected and Meredith really didn't show any signs of nervousness. The drop-off was pretty emotional for me. Dropping Jillian off for her first day is such a right-of-passage into making her an independent big girl (if you read above, this is one of our goals with school, so I want this to happen, but then again....) So I choked back the tears as much as I could in the hallways (I was actually pretty unsuccessful especially when I saw some other first-time drop-off mom friends. I had a fun day planned that started with cleaning some closets. Sadly, I chose Jillian's first, and cried when I found a tiny shoe! Bad idea....but then I stopped so I could go to brunch with my friends whose kids were at school with the girls and it was lots of fun and a nice distraction!

Daddy came to pick-up too, then we headed to Sonic for a treat. The girls both said they had fun, Jillian even napped (which I wasn't sure would happen), and Meredith said she wasn't as nervous as she thought she might be. All were big answers to prayers. As I write this, we have had 2 more days of school. Each one Jillian has gone in more happily and without tears. She comes home excited and telling me about her day and talks all about "Jillian Mae's school!"