kathleen's first day of school

A mere two weeks after we returned from Illinois (a good four weeks ago now!), Kathleen started her very first day of preschool.  She's been anticipating school all summer long, frequently asking, "Is it fall yet?  No?  When?"  One day we were running errands in the minivan and Kathleen piped up, "Mama, I'm so excited to start school in the fall.  I hope they know about Jesus there."

She couldn't have been more excited when the first day actually arrived.

After a lot of thought and prayer, we enrolled Kathleen in a nearby Christian preschool, two mornings a week.  This is a huge, huge step for us because, aside from the church nursery, we've never left Kathleen in any sort of organized childcare.  Ever.  I went ahead and registered her for the CDC when we lived in Hawaii, but even when Jim was deployed and I could really have used a break, I just couldn't bring myself to leave her with strangers, even for a few hours.  (There's not a CDC here in California, since we're not on a real post, so it never came up again.)  Occasionally Kathleen (along with Madeline and John David, of course) spends an afternoon or an evening with grandparents or the Illinois cousins, and there have been a handful of times (literally, fewer than five) when we've actually hired a sitter to stay with the children.  But mostly, she's been with us.  And that's largely because of me.  (I'm the first to admit that that's not necessarily the healthiest approach -- for one, it makes date night, well, rare.)

However, although I've had all this anxiety about letting my little girl go, she had none.  She was simply excited to begin school, excited to meet her teacher, excited to do new things.  As Jim and I drove her to school that first morning, I turned around in the car and asked, "How are you feeling, honey?" and she responded, "GREAT!  I'm so excited!"  I asked more than once.  And I got the same answer each time.

Posing with Daddy, but itching to go inside!

We'd visited the preschool with Kathleen last spring, so she'd seen the classrooms and playground, but this was her first opportunity to experience it all for herself.  She was a teensy bit tentative at first, but warmed up by playing with some play food with her best friend (who's conveniently enrolled in the same school, the same two days a week!), and then dove into her first craft project.

Kathleen works on making her "doll" look like her.

By the time we left for the parents' meeting in the church sanctuary, Kathleen seemed as though she'd been going to "school" forever.  She and her classmates played on the playground while the parents, teachers (except those supervising the playground), and administrators convened.  Between the large sandbox, the playhouse (complete with loft), the slide and the teeter-totter, Kathleen was completely and happily occupied.  In fact, when we returned and informed her that it was time to go, she was in no hurry to leave.

Best friends make the best travel companions.

We had to reassure her that she'd come back in two days for more fun.  Still, only when reminded of our plans for a special "first day of school" lunch celebration with Nan and Grandpa did Kathleen finally seem interested in leaving. 

Our school year got off to a strong start!