Another year has begun

This week my daughter started her second year of school. Senior Kindergarten already, it feels so strange to have a school aged child. I was able to get almost all of her school clothes for $230 at Zehrs, I love Joe Fresh clothing for kids, it's inexpensive and it lasts, it's also pretty cute stuff. I like all the clothing and so does T* and I don't have to spend a fortune on a years worth of stuff, even the shoes are pretty good.

Last year at school was great, it was a very small class (only 14 kids), the teacher was amazing, I honestly couldn't have picked a better teacher for T*'s first year of school. It's was a little strange to have 2 or 3 days a week all to myself with no child there asking for things to eat or something to do, for the first few months I honestly felt a little lost while she was gone. Eventually I got into the swing of things, I found I could get a lot more done without T* constantly wanting to eat or talk, and it was kind of nice to have the quiet. I did feel that all day at school was a bit long for a 4 year old but T* absolutely loved school, she made lots of friends and loved her teacher, it was really great watching her learn all the letters and numbers and start reading all on her own. It was really crazy to see how fast she was growing up. Now we are at the beginning of another year of school, again 2 or 3 days a week I am all by myself while she goes to school and learns. It feels like she is growing up without me in some ways. I am really happy to say that her teacher this year is just as nice as the one last year, we did meet her a few times before so it's not like she was a total stranger the first day of school. T*'s class is still nice and small (16 kids this year) and she is loving it already. Her biggest concerns before she started were "will the teacher be nice? and will her friends from last year be there?", again she did great on the first day. I do find that she is a bit cranky when she gets home but nothing some quiet time wont fix.

I think it's harder on the parents than it is on the kids, I know with T* she was totally fine with going to school all by herself last year, I actually had to remind her to give me a kiss and hug most mornings when I dropped her off. This year started out pretty much the same way, though she did ask if I could stay for a little while the first day, I didn't and she was totally fine with it, all her friends being there made that easy, today she just said goodbye and that was it. I always find it funny that so many parents look forward to the time when summer is over and their kids go back to school. That must come when they get older, I still miss her when she's not here. I do get a lot done, things that take forever when she is here take no time at all while she is in school, but I feel like I'm just killing time for the most part. I miss all her questions and the funny things she comes up with sometimes, I even kind of miss the noise. I did get to clean my car on Tuesday, it really needed to be done and isn't really something I can do with T*. I got to walk around the library slowly today without hearing "can we go now" every 2 minutes. It is nice to have the free time but I still miss her. I'm just happy that she totally loves school and has no problem being there. It's nice to know that while I kind of wander around wondering what to do she is totally content to be at school learning and playing with her friends. I just hope this love of school lasts all her life! Here's to a great year!!