First Day of School!

As the post title suggests, today was Addie's very first day of school EVER, which is kind of a BIG DEAL, at least in my mind.

Her choice of outfit for today included special "glitter shoes" and a dress my sister Des got for her

 She was incredibly excited, so much so that she put on her backpack about an hour before we left. She grudgingly let me snap a few pictures, but was really too excited to care much about hamming it up for the camera.

 A grudging "Cheese" followed by "Mom, can we go?"

We had gone to visit her classroom and meet her teacher last week, and she remembered the entire drill. She found her hook, hung up her backpack and went straight into class without a single backward glance at me. I was so proud of her, even as I was a little sad for me. She is so ready for independence and for learning, and it is really harder for me to admit that it's time to let her take those first steps away from me than it is for her to take them.

Her choice of backpack: penguin!

Meeting up with BFF, Calum, before school. They are in the same class.

Rather than subject the world to my handwriting, I just asked Ads some questions today. The whole "chalkboard" thing is awesome and Pinterest worthy, but only if your handwriting doesn't look untied shoelaces.

So, for posterity, an interview with Addie, faithfully transcribed (minus only my laughter):

Addie Ewald 09/05/2013
Mrs. Batterson's T/R "Creative 3s" class

Me: What do you want to be when you grow up? 
Addie: A kid.

Me: A kid? Well, by definition, you'll be an adult when you're grown up. I was thinking more about what kind of job you wanted to do when you were big.
Addie: I want a job where I'm a kid.

Me: OK then. What are you most excited about learning?
Addie: How to drive

Me: Is there anything that worries you about school?
Addie: No, not really.

Me: Well, that's good. I'm so excited for you. Are you ready to go get some knowledge?
Addie: What's knowledge?

Me: Oh, you know, just information about the world around us.
Addie: What's the world around us?

Me: Um, well, the things we see...cars, people, buildings, plants, animals.
Addie:What are animals?

Me: OK, now you're just being silly.
Addie: What's silly?

After school, I asked her how things went and she said "Mom, it was very frustrating." I was concerned/confused and asked her why, and she said "Mom, I'm just really slow and tired. Can I go lay on the couch and watch a movie?" My daughter, the 13 year old  the 3 year old.

 I'm choosing to believe that it drained her, and she was just surly because she was over stimulated, but maybe it really was frustrating. When I think back to the first few days of a new job, it often IS frustrating to learn the ropes and the codes of a new place. It's not so much because the learning process is arduous, it's just because the feeling of being at sea until you've got it all down can be upsetting. 

I've spent so much time in school (21 years, I do believe, which makes me kind of gag/cry/laugh) that it's like second nature to me to fall into classroom mode. But I had to learn all of those things and that's what she's working on this year. I had kind of forgotten that you have to learn how to walk quietly in a hallway, how to sit and listen respectfully to classmates, how to take instructions from other adults, and how to function on your own in a new space and setting. It's good for her, and hopefully both the crazy excitement and frustration will soon smooth out into quiet enjoyment and a lifelong love of learning. Or maybe she won't be interested until they get to the driving part of the nursery school curriculum. We shall see.

"Oh, the places you'll go! "