Ladies and gentlemen: we have achieved Kindergarten!

It's true, I can hardly believe it, but yes: Maisie has started Kindergarten.

Yesterday (Wednesday 8/29) was her first day. The night before she said "You know what Mom? I'm scared and excited and nervous. You know why? (whispers) I have school tomorrow!"

But we talked about everything that would happen, Aaron helped her practice making friends and sitting on the bus ("Can I sit with you?"), and she got ready: she packed her lunch (grapes, pretzels, yogurt, a jelly roll-up, and pickles) and laid out her clothes (Hello Kitty shirt, flowered skirt). I was worried that she wouldn't be able to get to sleep, but she was out cold about five minutes after bedtime.

Wednesday morning, she woke up bright and early, before the alarm even went off. Got dressed, brushed teeth and hair, and was Ready! To! Go! by 6:30! Unfortunately her bus isn't until 6:57, so we had a little extra time! When it was time to leave, she was halfway up the block before anyone else was even out the door!

She was happy to see another kid waiting at the bus stop - an older girl, maybe 5th or 6th grade, who was very sweet to Maisie. For all her nervous and scared feelings, excitement had really taken over at this point!

When the bus pulled up, she hesitated for a moment, and looked back at me... I nodded, like "yep, this is your bus" and off she went!

She found a seat near the back and waved and waved as the bus pulled away.

Maisie reported a good day on her first day: her classroom is a little hard to find, and she didn't eat much of her lunch. But she made "four or five" friends, including one girl on her bus, and enjoyed music class and playing red light-green light.

She also came home with a definite opinion - she wants to eat hot lunch at school. I said that maybe we should pack a lunch, just in case she doesn't like what they are serving. But she explained that you don't have a choice; if you bring lunch, you can't choose to eat hot lunch instead. So she's buying lunch, at least occasionally.

This morning was similar - very excited to get up and go! go! go! She wanted to make sure she'd be riding the bus, and we weren't going to drive her (no worries there), and that I didn't pack her lunch, so she could buy it. I can't wait to hear about her day!

I'm so proud of Maisie. She's been at Sunny Hollow for three years, since she was not quite three years old. More than half her life! But she's handled this transition like a champ. There were a few tears shed, but that's to be expected. I know she's going to do great at her new school. I can't wait to see it.