Gracie Goes To Kindergarten

I know I have been avoiding the "K" word for at least 2 years, and now I know why. I can't believe that my baby is going to be walking the halls of this huge school with out holding mommy's hand. Can you believe these people think I am going to willingly drop of my most precious cargo and "assume" that they will take care of her as well as I do! They must be nuts! I gave my mother a 14 page manual to watch her for 3 days, and they think I can just walk away and put my child's life in the hands of a bunch of strangers!!

Home schooling here we come!

Well, that would be ridiculous now wouldn't it. And, Gracie would be crushed since she is so looking forward to going to Sandy Hook.

She and I, along with all the other parents and kids got an hour tour of the school today. Gracie was very curious, and very nervous. My hands got sweaty as she never let go.

I know she will do well, but it is just so big, and she is so little.

We saw the 9 kindergarten classrooms. (I am hoping they will be smart and pair several of the children together in each class from Grasshopper Green.( I didn't see all of the teachers, but the ones we did "visit" were very nice. They allowed our large group to walk through their rooms and see what activities they were doing.

As we walked along the hallways outside of their classrooms I noticed student artwork that included sentences by kindergartners. I better get on the ball--she isn't ready to write words yet, much less sentences. I think we will be busy this summer getting her ready.

Also on the tour we were told that the kids would rotate between art, music, library and computer. Plus, they will have PE every other day.

We were guided by the assistant principal who was super nice and constantly assured us that our little ones would be nurtured and protected at all times. In fact for the first several weeks they will wait for them at the buses, take them to the different activities and even eat lunch with them. Oh, and they have bathrooms inside the classes. I hadn't even thought of my 5 year old having to get a hall pass and find a potty!

We saw the the gym (all 3 of them), the computer lab, the music classroom, the library, and the cafeteria. That's where I was not the only parent to panic. You should have seen all of our eyes when we walked in to this very noisy room packed full of kids. It was like feeding time at the zoo. That's when he told us the teachers would help them through the line and eat lunch with them. I had already planned to pack Gracie's lunch (along with a note each day!), and this is another good reason for that. Although, when we got to the parking lot Gracie told me she wanted to pick out her lunch, which surprised me beacuse the kids were as scared to see the cafeteria as us adults! I told her I would pack her lunch, and she said we should do a "pattern." So, I guess at some point I will get brave and let her buy some lunch.

As I said Gracie was very interested in everything she saw. And, it helped to see some familiar faces. We saw Malaci (from church) in gym class doing warm ups. We saw Leelou in her classroom doing school work. We saw Ms. Karen's (from church) classroom and later saw her as she got her lunch from the cafeteria. I recognized several other kids from church, but can't place their names. So, it was nice for Gracie to know she isn't alone. And, we parents were told we could come in any time. I may have my hands full with Thomas when she is in school, but I won't hesitate to check in on her, even if she doesn't see me.

I can't believe I toured an elementary school today. I can't believe my daughter is going to be a kindergartener. I have known the joys of being a mommy, and now I know the pain.

**I didn't know the policy of cameras in the school, and I also figured it wouldn't be polite. So I just snapped this picture of a very excited Gracie as we were signing in outside the school's main entrance. **

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