jr. kindergartener

Ella attended her first official day of jr. kindergarten this week. I was somewhat nervous that she wouldn't love it as much as she anticipated. The day before, we had attended a short orientation to meet the teacher (Mrs. Behan) and the other students, and Ella spent the whole time in observation mode. She was very quiet and reserved and seemed pretty unsure of how to approach the new, unfamiliar faces. Especially the boys.

When I walked her to her class the following day for her first offiicial day in school, she acted very much the same. She moved rather slowly and seemed unsure of what the protocol was. Mrs. Behan was ready for parents to get moving so she could carry on with the normalcy of class (I wasn't the only parent lingering, savoring the moment...I was, however, the only one sporting a camera.) As I eased out of the classroom, Ella caught my eye, smiled brightly and waved. It was her way of letting me know she was going to be ok. So I left.

Simon and I picked her up 2-1/2 hours later and she seemed to have grown up! She was very proud of herself and proceeded to tell me all the little details of the things they did. They learned a nursery rhyme about the woman in the shoe who had so many children....you know the rest....and they sang songs and played music. But she said the boys were getting too loud with the instruments and they had to stop playing. Furthermore, she assured me that she "didn't do anything wrong the whole time!" but rather, listened when the teacher read (even though the boys were talking) and she raised her hand whenever she had a question. So funny. I can see she's the teacher's pet already!

This morning, she asked if she could go to school. I love that school is fun when you're five! Let's hope she finds the wonder in it for the next 13 years!