First day of Kindergarten

Brynn's preschool teachers and friends put together this book for her last day. I was laughing and crying reading it. I love these pictures.

Brynn wanted to pack her lunch for today, so last night we filled up her lunch box (shown below) with a sandwich and other goodies. It seemed like we were running on the slow side this morning, unfortunately, but we did get a chance to see the bus pull up to our corner. That was nice, as Brynn could see where it will pick  her up to go to school in the mornings and at about what time she'll need to be ready to make it on the bus. For as many details as she remembers, she forgets schedules and plans that I tell her over and over. When she saw the bus pull up, she says, "hurry! We need to get out there; the bus is waiting!" I reminded her that I was taking her to school today. :-) It was nice to see her hop-to-it attitude about that, though, because she is quite pokey in the mornings, and I'm concerned that she'll be ready in time to get on the bus every morning.

Luckily we did have time for some pics outside before we headed over to the school.

We saw other buses running and kids walking to school on the ride there. For as far away as we had to park because of the heavy first-day traffic, I told Brynn we could just as well have walked too, since we only live about 2 1/2 blocks from the school anyway. Rosha was waiting for Brynn when we got to her room.

Everyone was concerned how I would do (ie would I bawl like a baby), but it was such a flurry of kids and busyness that I didn't have much time for crying. There is this Berenstain Bears book that Brynn got for her birthday that is about the girl bear going to off to Kindergarten. In the book it describes all the things you do in Kindergarten, and painting is one of them. Brynn takes this book as gospel of what happens in Kindergarten, and so she was looking forward to painting, and was sure they would do so on the first day (and she probably thinks every day for that matter). We needed to provide paint shirts for the classroom, and Brynn thought I had forgotten hers today and was alarmed..."I won't even get to paint today!" she said. She was playing when she got home and out of nowhere said, 'and we didn't even get to paint today, mama!' Maybe another day.

The boy in the background is Kane (and Rosha too!). He was at Nancy's with Brynn for four years. He and Brynn are only six weeks apart. So, that is fun they are back together again now in the same class.

Already looking bored in class. Just kidding. The girl to the left of Brynn had some tears while I was there, which prompted Brynn to be a little 'sad' and clingy. She talked about the blond girl on the other side of her when she got home and said she made friends with her, and they ate lunch together.

Brynn will ride the bus from the school over to the HopeKids after school program, which is also where she had gone to preschool. When I picked her up there today, she and Rosha were playing together and she said they sat together on bus ride over. She reported that she had a GREAT first day and that there was too much to tell when I asked her all the details. I did squeeze some info out of her, though. She was excited that they only took a few minutes to "rest their brains," rather than the longer naps she's used to at preschool.

I asked her if she ate all her lunch then, and she said yes, but they said it was time to leave and go back to the room, and so she didn't even't have time to eat her cookie!

She seemed pretty tired when she went to bed tonight. It was quite the big day for her, even though she is used to being away from home at preschool all day every day. I was so glad and relieved that she had such a good first day. I know she'll do well and enjoy Kindergarten.