Entering the World of Elementary School

Today is not just any day. It's the first day of school... for our family, the first day of traditional PRIMARY school. Gretchen is off to kindergarten - and it's hard to gauge if we are more excited to see her bloom or to pay less in preschool bills. 

I mean, it's totally more exciting to be done with her preschool see her bloom. This child has been ready for elementary school for a long time. She reads, she draws, she is fantastically curious and as independent as they come. 

It helps that the rest of the kids in our cul-de-sac are a year older in school so she has been watching the school bus come everyday for the last year while everyone else is bussed to and from school. She is more than ready to join the bus brigade.

But it is the first day of kindergarten, so I am insistent that she drive to school with the rest of us as a family.

Daddy even went in to work late so that we could walk our little girl in to her classroom on this very special occasion.

Alex came along to help with the send off

 

Gretchen flirted with the idea of wearing this precious dress that my mom saved from MY first day of school so many years ago. I was a bit shorter at her age, and styles have changed dramatically, so we decided to go with a different, precious dress. 

We anxiously awaited the arrival of her afternoon bus:

She was all smiles as she ran off of the bus and right to her little brother for a hug. This is now our daily routine, morning and afternoon, as we adjust to our big girl being a kindergartener.