One year ago vs. Today

My oldest DD went back to school as a first grader today. It was much easier to walk her in this year. No tears from me. (Unlike last year I bawled like a baby as I drove away from the school!) My husband and younger daughter also went with us. (See photo to the left).

It was sweet to watch the Moms of the new little kindergartners be in the same place I was just one short year ago.

It's amazing how much the kids grow in one year. Last year they were all so small. Another Mom commented on how much bigger the class size looked this year. When I counted kids, the number was exactly the same as last year, just the kids are bigger! LOL!

My daughter loves school and couldn't wait to go back. She got in line and I had turned to chat with another parent and hardly noticed that her line was leaving for class! I had to call her name to get her attention to wave goodbye. It was funny. I am sooooo glad she isn't the clingy, crying type, but she was ready to go without so much as a wave bye! (I'm a Mom, I need a little bitty-eentsy-teensy bit of separation anxiety from her to feel appreciated! At least an extra hug or something! LOL!!!)

After school we checked out her class room. Nice, neat, clean and super organized!

The main thing I noticed about 1st grade vs. kindergarten was the lack of toys in the class room. For kindergarten, there were plenty of "centers" for play during free time. They rotated amongst learning game, and building blocks and a play area called housekeeping.

No toys in first grade. Lots of cool, cute, bright graphics on the walls all geared towards learning. There was a schedule written on the board and so many things on the walls to learn about. I'm pretty sure DD didn't notice the lack of toys. She loves school and learning. Today they counted and graphed M&Ms. Then, they got to eat them! Much better than toys and they were learning math at the same time! LOL!

This year they sit at little desks with cubbies in them to keep their stuff. Last year, they sat at tables with all the other kids. It was so cute to see her in her little desk with her pencil sharpened ready for the next day's work. (All the desks had a sharpened pencil on them!)

I sure hope some of this teacher's organizational strengths rub off on me this year. Lord knows I could really use it!

So, DD is now a first grader and still loves school. That hasn't changed!

Go, grow and learn, baby!