First Day of Preschool

It just seems surreal that Raegan is in preschool. Like, wasn't it just yesterday that I was holding her for the first time? Granted, she is a very young preschooler, so it is a little sooner for her than for most children, but still.

Raegan has been talking about going to school for MONTHS now. And when Zane went back to school last month she was super bummed that it wasn't her turn yet. It seems like the closer the day came the more she asked about it. The week before school started she had orientation, which was her time to go into the classroom by herself and spend time with her teacher. Raegan was very excited to FINALLY get to wear her bookbag and go to her school, as you can see from the first picture. :)

Once we got there, she started getting a little nervous about the whole thing (as you can see from the second picture!) and as soon as we got downstairs her shoulder went up in front of her face (her classic "I'm feeling shy" move). Her teacher was really kind and got down on her level and gave her a couple minutes to warm up before she firmly (but still nicely) led her into the classroom. I didn't go in the classroom with her at all, which is a Montessori thing (it's all about the children and their learning experiences) but she did really well. And me not going in with her for orientation really helped on the first day of school because she kind of knew that Luke and I wouldn't be going any further than the hallway.

Ready to go on the first day of school

How did my baby turn into this grown up girl?

Hanging up her bookbag

Hug for her teacher

I think she kind of surprised herself with the hug, because she immediately got kind of stand-offish :)

Raegan lingered in the hallway/doorway to the classroom for a minute, until Ms. Sherry steered her in the direction of Ms. Molly. Luke and I hung out for another minute, before we decided we better GO while she was still thinking everything was okay. The north side of the classroom has a long wall of windows that face the sidewalk outside, so we stood out there and watched her for a few minutes. Raegan kind of stood there for awhile until Ms. Molly got her started on an activity, and she seemed happy, so off we went.

When I picked Raegan up, she said that she got to use TAPE AND SCISSORS!!! (said all in caps, btw) and that their garden has "pumpkin pies" growing in it. She was equally happy to go to school on Thursday and my mother in law said she just walked right in. Actually, Raegan was a little disappointed that she couldn't go on Friday, but once she realized she would get to spend more time at her daycare provider's she cheered up.

So far so good for an excellent start to school. :)