Kindergarten!

[I wrote this last Friday and am just getting around to posting it... it's been a busy week.]

Today was K's first day of kindergarten!

(We have a slow transition into school. Yesterday we had a half-hour teacher conference and tour. Today he only went until 11 a.m. Monday he goes until noon. Tuesday is his first full day.)

A seasoned schoolgoer, K went confidently off, said hello to his teacher, and stood in line with his class. I was surprised to find myself tearing up. After all, I'm a seasoned dropper-off. But it felt different to be leaving him at the big school, with all the big kids, where he will go off and do his own thing and be more independent than he's ever been. The walk to school felt different too -- instead of me and my boys walking up our quiet street, laughing about something silly and stopping to look at bugs, we were caught up in a stream of kids and parents, all chatting and saying hello and running to catch up with each other.

Grandma picked him up and reported that his day was "awesome."

The best part for me was FINALLY getting confirmation that he has a spot in the after-school program, which starts next week. Back in the spring, the people who run the program told us all we had to do was hand in the form before the end of last school year, and we'd be all set. Last week, I realized we hadn't heard anything and started calling and emailing them, with no response. Yesterday, someone at the school informed us that if we hadn't gotten a call, it meant he didn't have a spot and that they were oversubscribed this year. Panic!! Finally, after my FOURTH phone call, I got them to confirm. He is in! Phew. No emergency nanny needed.


[Update, a week later: K loves kindergarten! He comes home so excited to tell us about all the new things he did that day. A SAHM friend reported that her son was so exhausted by the end of the school day at 2:30 that he had been having meltdowns every day. I guess K has been building up his stamina in daycare all these years!]