I realized in Aruba after spending every single waking second with Skylar that she was ready for more stimulation and a more challenging environment than her current preschool was able to provide.
It’s been a fabulous place for her, but all good things run their course and come to an end. Kids grow, they mature; they outgrow certain things and need new challenges.
And today she was off to meet that challenge: she started school at a new school.
She was thrilled.
I have been a basket case.
I’ve been consoling myself with a baking project that involved lots of cream cheese frosting. We have enough desserts and sugar in this house right now to send anyone into a diabetic coma and I surely didn’t need to bake anything.
But I haven’t known what to do with myself and it was stress-relieving for me, a little bit. I didn’t even eat any of it. And I always sample the goods but I’ve been too nervous and anxious wondering how she’s doing which should give you an indication of the state of my nerves.
I’ve been wondering how her day has been, if she’s liking it, if she was able to unscrew the tight lid on her water bottle by herself, if the other kids will be nice, if she’ll miss her friends at her old school.
I have been worried about all the things any mother probably worries about but until you send your precious little bundle of joy off into the big bad world you can’t imagine how basket case-ish you really will be. Trust me, it happens.
She’ll be 5 years old in just a few weeks. Where have five years gone? I don’t even know.
Time flies. Hug your babies because pretty soon they aren’t babies.
They say things like, “Mom, I am waiting for a response. Please don’t ignore me.” when you try to ignore their requests to watch more Nickelodeon.
The school feeds them some snacks but I packed her a lunch that I would have loved to have if I were a kid:
Grapes, carrot sticks with peanut butter to dip them in, an apple, raisins, sugar snap peas
seaweed snacks because she loves those black salty things
and a small No-Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Oat Square
At first I was thinking, well what if she can’t get the plastic wrap off it because I wrapped it really tightly and then I realized, she’s pretty resourceful when it comes to chocolate and peanut butter.
Just like her mama.
Do you remember starting new schools? Were you nervous? Excited?
If you’re a mom, did you have more first day jitters than your child or do you remember your mom being a bit of a nervous wreck sending you off to school?
I loved school and I was usually a mixture of anxious and excited with the start of a new school year.
I remember going from elementary school into middle school and feeling like that was big stuff.
And then when I was about to enter high school from junior high, that felt really big. I was worried I may get lost in the high school and how could I ever get from one end of the school to the next in a five minute bell period. I moved from a very small school to a high school with over 2000 students and it seemed huge.
Time to go pick up my “baby” pretty soon and hear about her first day.
P.S. Thanks for the NuNaturals Stevia Giveaway entries
LOVE the lunch you packed her! I’m sure it was a great day!
Brooke
http://www.TheAnnessaFamily.com
I hope Skylar had a great day at her new school! I can totally relate to being nervous about switching schools. We are thinking about a new school for the toddler, and just thinking about it has been nerve-wrecking. Like Skylar, he handles new situations quite well, but you never know…
What a gorgeous girl! And I love the seaweed snacks, too!
Skylar is just beautiful Averie! She’s lucky to have such a caring Mom!
I don’t have children, but I’d be interested in hearing your thoughts on how things are different for Skylar being school than they were when you were doing unschooling with her. I think it’s awesome that she’s excited about her first day! :) I always hated school starting back up, haha. I guess I like having my own schedule too much…. still do.
I was the child of a military family, so I think I was a pro at dealing with new schools. It was always exciting for me. I don’t recall ever being nervous. Only when I was in high school and transferred to my last one was I unhappy. But you know… I was a teenager who went from a popular cheerleader in a good school, to a nobody in a gang school.
Glad to hear you survived all those moves!
I hope you will tell us how she liked it :) I am dying to hear how it went!
Surely I will never forget my first day at school, it was sooo exciting and I had been waiting for that day for absolute ages.
and I loved the lunch you packed for Skylar!!
Thanks :)
Awwww, I hope Skylar likes her new school!!! It’s crazy how quickly they grow up!
soon enough you’ll be in this boat!
Such a sweet post!
As a preschool teacher I see some moms who just are heartbroken when they drop their child off…but when they get the big hug and see the massive grin at the end of the day, it’s good for everyone :)
the minute we got there, she BAILED from me and ran into the middle of the room…and she was off. Doing her thing. Not one of those crying at mom’s leg kids. She was like BYE MOM GOTTA GO!
I was way more heartbroken than she was :)
She sounds like a pretty tough cookie, and I’m sure she had a great time. Can’t wait to hear the news!
How exciting for Skylar and stressful for you! Hang in there! I loved new schools and environments when I was a kid, but not so much as a teen diving into a new social scene.
oh, Mama! having to change to a more challenging school is a GOOD ‘problem’ to have. from what I imagine based on your stories, I am sure she’s doing great! I went to preschool before kindergarten and LOVED it – there was a swim pool and a trampoline, and my best friend was there too. we went all through school together – graduated high school together! what an exciting time for her, just beginning her journey! channel that worry into finding ways to capture all the memories! :D
can’t wait to hear how it went.
Yeah she majorly outgrew the old place. And this is a Montessori school so she’ll be in this class for another year or so. They group kids in a 2 to 3 year age range all together and so if it all works out, she’ll be there for awhile!
Aw I bet she did just fine, and I’m sure she made plenty of friends with that killer dessert by her side! It probably won’t hurt to send her with a few extras all week in fact ;)
I know! I wanted to send extra…I Have SO.Much.Stuff around here right now…but I dont wanna make other parents mad. People tend to freak out about “sugar”. But they forget those juice boxes and Lunchables are packed with sugar but I digress…
I think I may have cried on my first day of kindergarten :) That is one of the scariest things to me about having children someday…letting them grow up, be heartbroken once or twice, or be frightened about being out in the world!
I know..it’s crazy that I am “one of those” moms now. All teary eyed sending my baby off to big girl school.
Hugs friend. I am not a mom, but I sure know how my sister reacted both times her kids started school and then when they recently changed schools. I hope she’s loving it!!
Glad to know your sister went thru it, too. Not that she went thru it, but that it’s “common” to be a wreck :)
Aw, I hope she’s had a good day and enjoyed the new challenge! I love that first picture of her, she’s looks so full of fun and mischief…;)
Yea she took my sunglasses and said mom, these say D and G on the side. And then put them on. Such a thief :)