First Day of School

Yesterday was the big day. I laid out outfits and packed lunches the night before, just like I used to do with anticipation before all my first days of school.

Ellie wanted to take a picture with her backpack on to send to her older cousin Isabelle.

We took the classic first-day-of-school photo, and since we were all heading to school we took a family photo, too.

Needless to say, I've been nervous and anxious about this process. We like the proximity of the school to our apartment and office, and the colegio seems like a place we can trust to leave our children. The teachers are warm and friendly and sweet.

Sisters' first day of school together.

I was most nervous about leaving the girls for five hours, through a nap for Hazel and lunchtime. I hoped Hazel would nap in a new place, but know she's been stubborn about the going to sleep process.

Nevertheless, we set off yesterday morning to walk the two blocks to school. Ellie was excited about walking to school wearing her backpack. We handed off the kiddos to the teachers while we signed papers. When we were leaving, Ellie began to cry but we gave quick hugs and left, hoping to tear the band-aid off quickly.

The door closed and we hurried away towards our bus stop. I grabbed Michael's hand and started to cry. It was inevitable. I'm a mom separated from my ninos.

Our Spanish lessons flew by quickly and before we knew it we were standing in front of the school ringing the bell. They don't let us inside but bring the girls to the door when we arrive. The report of day one? They both cried a little, but overall did great. Hazel didn't take a nap, which I was bummed about, but not entirely surprised.

All the way home Ellie told us all about school. I found myself asking her questions and probing responses out of her all night. I wanted as many details as I could. She was smiling and happy and proud of the little card she had colored, excited about her snack and eating lunch at school, using the stool in the bano (and having no accidents!) and playing with new toys.

Ellie colored this at school.

It's an invitation for me to join the girls on Friday at school for a Mother's Day celebration.
I love that a teacher wrote "Aldi." I'm assuming that was an attempt to spell Ellie phonetically with a Spanish accent. 

The school has little notebooks where they write notes from the day and where we can respond if needed.

Today Hazel took a great nap at school. Ellie was excited about going to school. Though she started crying when we first left, she had another great day. It's fun to ask her about her day and to hear about her singing songs and playing with new friends and coloring. I'm thankful she's had no accidents and really seems to be adjusting well. I wish I could be a fly on the wall to observe what's going on, but I guess this is part of parenting, not getting to be around every second and learning to release my girls to become a little independent. I just didn't think I'd have to start that so soon.

I am feeling blessed and thankful for this school and praying that the girls continue to adjust and enjoy their mornings there. Michael and I have had fun experiencing riding the bus and and limiting ourselves to speaking Spanish all morning. Time to study!