Operation Preschool = Success

Guess who started preschool?!

This little girl:

With her sparkle Toms, big white hair bow, donut backpack, and Ninja Turtle lunch box…she was ready to face the world…well, a classroom full of 3 year olds.

A few weeks ago I had posted The Great Preschool Debate and asked your opinions on preschool, whether you send your kids or not, or plan on sending your kids…and I got every answer imaginable on Facebook.

And I ultimately came to the conclusion that there is no right answer…it purely depends on the parents and the child.  The answer can even vary by child to child in one family (one sibling might be ready at a certain age whereas the other might not be).  Or mom and dad might just make the decision to keep the kids at home.

After thinking long and hard about it, we decided Mabel would benefit from preschool.  She’s outgoing, loves to be around other children, enjoys learning, and most importantly was just plain excited about school!  We toured the school (which I highly suggest doing for any school you are considering) and she cried at the end of the tour because she wanted to stay…lol!  So our minds were made up…she was ready!

This morning went smoothly.  I of course had to put my camera in her face a ton of times and I’m just thankful she was tolerant of it.  🙂  After photos at home, all of us piled into the car (husband and Millie included) and off to school we went.  And after me forcing a few more photos in front of the school, she pretty much dragged us to her classroom, saying hi to everyone in the hallway that we passed.

I hope she keeps that confidence and optimism through life.

We got to her door and hung up her things…and then she bolted into the room, diving right into the bin of toy trucks.  That’s my girl.

We said goodbye to the teacher and didn’t say goodbye to Mabel.  I guess that sounds kind of brutal, but she was happily playing and I know as a former teacher, the longer you drag out goodbyes, the harder it makes it for the child.  She didn’t even notice that we had left because she was having so much fun.

Millie and I enjoyed a few hours at home…napping.  I’m not going to lie, I wasn’t productive at all and I hadn’t slept much the night before.  And then before I knew it, it was time to go pick Mabel up.

Back at school, I popped my head into the hallway and saw that big gap tooth grin with a big “MOMMMMA!”.  What a relief…she had loved her first day.

And I can’t tell you how good it feels to know that we made the right decision.

On to school day number two!