Kindergarten Orientation

Well, I made it through it, and I even did it without crying. I had a million things to do today, I ended up with a migraine, her school was a 1,000 degrees, and I have a million papers to look over and sign before she gets to school next week--so, who had time to cry!

Actually, now that the day has settled down I am finding myself much more calm about the whole thing. I am still going to miss her like crazy--but somehow I have found some peace.

Maybe it was seeing her classroom, or meeting her teacher, or watching her beam on the bus; but what ever it was--it I am so thankful (as is Garren, I know he was getting tired of my crying night after night!).

The evening went pretty well. The parents and kids gathered in the gym, which was so packed there weren't enough chairs and we had to stand. The Principal said a little welcome and then they instructed the kids to come forward when their teachers we called. The teachers would take the kids and put them on the bus and they would take a little ride as a class.

At this point, Gracie is clutched to me and hiding behind my legs. I reassure her that I will walk her up the (very long and packed) isle. This helps a little, but you can tell she is panicking.

Now, I was one of the only parents to walk my kid to the front. Some kids walked nicely, others ran or bounced, and then there were the parents who literally pushed their terrified kids in to the isle and walked away. These kids ended up crying the whole time. I decided I would rather be the "over protective" parent than have my daughter's first memory of school be one of terror.

I helped her into her line and I moved back. She would turn around with that scared look on her face, but I would just smile. I got in front of the line and waited in the hallway so she would see me when she passed. And then I went outside behind her group, being sure to stay many feet away. She would turn around every once in a while and I would smile and wave.

They loaded the kids on the bus and she had a window seat. I walked around to the other side of the bus and started snapping pictures. She looked so excited! And, later she told me she couldn't wait to ride the bus again!

I went back inside to the gym where Garren and the other non "over protective" parents were and listened to the remainder of the speakers and rules...etc. Then we were dismissed to our children's rooms.

When Garren and I got to Miss. Orndorff's room (#408) there was Gracie and the rest of her classmates happily coloring a picture of a school bus.

The teacher went through some other information on a power point presentation, and then allowed us to discover the room with our kids. She had set up Blue's Clue's paw prints around the room and had a worksheet to go with it. The kids had to find the objects around the room (coat rack, mailbox, teacher's desk, bathroom, etc) which were designated by the paw prints. A very cute idea! Despite the stifling heat Gracie was excited to find all of the paw prints and she got a prize from the teacher; a new pencil. We filled out some more paperwork and put her supplies in her "mailbox" (a shoebox container), and we headed home.

I am pretty sure I earned another mommy sticker for tonight. It sure wasn't easy, but it made our daughter even more excited about school--and that is ALL that matters. Of course she wants to go tomorrow--but I have informed her that mommy has 4 days left, and I won't share them. She smiled at me and said "I guess that will be okay."

You can see all of tonight's pictures, and I will add more to it as the year goes on--in this folder. Wish us luck for next week, and we would love some added prayers for both mommy & Gracie.

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