First Grade!!

Today was the day.  The FIRST day of FIRST grade!!  The day started off like all of our school days, with the kids making their lunches.  Since it has been a few months, they were very excited to do it.  They made their sandwiches (turkey and salami?) and filled their lunch boxes with lots of other goodies:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Part of the reason I have them pack their own lunches is that they do so much better than I ever would!

 

After lunch was made, it was time for breakfast.  And first day of school cake.

 

 I know it is kind of a weird tradition, cake for breakfast on the first day of school, but it's how we roll.

 

Both kids read the little note I left them.  By themselves.  They don't really need me for much these days.

 

 

 

Last year, on a rough day, I made a little blanket for Ben to keep in his pocket so he could reach in and touch it if he got sad.  Today, his blanket was in his pocket for the first day!

 

After our annual first day front porch photo shoot

 

 

 

 

We were on our way to school!!

 

 

Once we got there, it was off to Ben's class first...

 

 

He wasted no time getting right to work.

 

Then he gave me a quick kiss and sent me on my way to Abby's class where she was very happy to start her day!

 

 So I gave her a hug, swallowed my tears, and headed off to MY first day of school.

 

All and all, it was a successful morning.  And as far as first days of school go around here, pretty uneventful.  But before you go thinking I'm dead inside because I didn't cry my way to work, let me assure you that this process was not entirely drama free.

 

Rewind to last night.  Everything was going well.  We read "The Night Before First Grade" (thank you Uncle Jacob and Auntie Vesta for the great book!), we sprinkled Abby's "Ready Confetti" under both pillows (she was kind enough to share with her brother...but not too much because she will need to save some for second grade.  She's a hoarder.) and everyone was snuggled in.  But as soon as I shut the door to Ben's room, he burst into tears.  "Momma, I'm scared!!"  And as soon as I got him calmed down, I heard the crying from her room.  "I'm not going to school tomorroooooooowwww!"

 

 As you may know, I am not emotionally equipped to deal with sobbing kids who are scared to go to school.  Actually, I am.  Just not when they are mine.  So instead of saying something encouraging, I sat down and cried with them.  Because that's what I do the day before a new school year.  It's as much of a tradition as cake for breakfast!

 

So we all had a good cry and I finally found some encouraging words and tucked my sniffling babies into bed, not knowing what to expect in the morning.

 

As it turns out, there was nothing for any of us to worry about.  Both kids had a great first day.  Dinner was full of stories about their day.  They couldn't wait to show us their folders and Ben even had homework!  His first assignment was to fill a small bag with 5 things that tell about himself.  Abby didn't have any homework (much to her dismay) so while I was busy filling out all of their paperwork, she helped Ben with his.  When he bounced downstairs with his bag, I got some tears as he told me what he picked and why.  (I obviously wasn't going to make it the entire day without crying!)

 

 

 

 "A picture of you and me snuggling because I love you and I loved that day, a picture of Lambert because he is my favorite, a picture of me riding my bike because it is my favorite sport, a Lego because I love Legos and a Bronco helmet because it is my favorite team."  I love that kid!!  So proud of the thought he put into it and how well he knows himself!!

 

Even though Abby didn't have homework, she must have forgiven her teachers (she has two) because I found these after she went to bed:

 

First grade is off to a fantastic start.  I'm a hot mess but the kids seem to be doing just fine.