on his own

today was the inevitable.


a certain boy had his first official day of kindergarten. with the added bonus of a ride on the big yellow school bus!




like the big boy he is, he got ready for school with a grin on his face. he was confident.

{the irony is not lost on me that we walked to the community school to catch the bus to take him to his class. for the next year, we will take this daily walk and observe the final stages of the building process}



as i had hoped, we made it to the bus stop with more than enough time to spare. he met a few other kids that he will be waiting with. he got to see a few busses drive by.

then his bus pulled up.

the bus driver came across as very kind. he showed Aidan his seat, which was at the very front with 2 girls. lucky boy!

i snapped a picture of him through the window. which is a really big deal...full bus....everyone EXCEPT my son, looking at me through the window! mr. gentle-heart-bus-driver asked if i wanted to step onto the bus to take one of my son in his seat. at this point, i couldn't say no. soooo.....



is that an embarrassed look? or nervous? i'm sure he'll tell me one day!

i need not have worried about crying. little miss Kiara took care of that for me. she was devastated that she would not be riding the bus and going to kindergarten with her big brother. the tears started before he rode away, and continued until long after we reached home. {she has done this ever since he started playschool...two years ago}.

now we wait for the morning to end and the bus to return my boy. i am sooo looking forward to hearing how his first day went.

as for Kiara...she will get her very first day of playschool in a few more sleeps. she has been waiting for this day for two years now. i hope it lives up to her expectations!

first day of kindergarten

today was his orientation day in kindergarten. he got to play at a few centres. listened to a story. got a tour of the school. met some of the older siblings of a few classmates during the tour. (including his teachers' daughter)

the moms' missed out on the story and got to fill out school forms instead.

he was hoping to make a best friend on the first day. but when only 1/3 of your class is present, that makes it rather tough!

instead he decided to show off his intellect for his teacher by writing the only word he knew, 'baseball'. i never knew that it was spelled 'cab cat'. hahaha then he copied the entire web address from the bottom of a colouring page! even the letter "a" with the 'tail' above it.



he cleaned up rather nice for his first day.

or kind of a pseudo first day.

since it was just him and i, we went to Starbucks to celebrate. on his own, he ordered a steamer with vanilla and a pumpkin scone. no joke. of course his little maturity made the staff think he was absolutely a darline. especially with his manners. a proud moment for mommy. {and for him too.}

next week will be when i need support! i will put him on the big yellow school bus and not see him until that big ol' bus returns my baby home again. i am very excited for his new opportunities. i will have plenty to keep me busy while he is away. yet i will still miss having him nearby. most likely Kiara will also provide solutions for that problem.

changes

i guess summer is officially over.

this little guy starts kindergarten tomorrow.

his school has a staggered entry. which means that only 5 or 6 students attend at a time. with a parent. this is new to me. i've done my share of "first days" being the teacher. this is an entirely new experience for me. his first "official" day is next Tuesday.

i asked him tonight what he thought kindergarten would be like. his answer? "it will have lots of learning. i'm going to learn lots. like reading and writing words." i asked if he would be sitting in a desk, like we witnessed at the old school in fort edmonton park. without a pause, he nodded. "yes, i will have to do my work at a desk".

given these expectations, i am quite confident that he will enjoy kindergarten. a lot.

for the teacher in me...i love how his teacher will be introducing letters and words. you see, just before Aidan was born, i subbed for her on a regular basis. including a short term absence. it was then that i learned why so many kindergarten teachers did not want to give up that position! i feel very prepared. very excited. she is amazing, and i know Aidan will adore her.

for the mother in me....i just keep reminding myself to keep breathing. it probably isn't a bad thing to be reminded to enjoy each moment and take delight in the simple joys at this time of our lives. while i keep a tissue on hand, that is!