Fast times at Skyline Drive: Back to School

Back to school had new meaning this year! Though Dax attended preschool the last two years, there's something more real about kindergarten. I was in shock that our sweet, creative, intelligent boy could possibly be heading off to school (wasn't he just in diapers?!). Dax was also a bit more hesitant this year, but after a few visits to his new school and meeting his teacher a couple of times, he became truly excited about this new experience.

Our shift away from summer started with an assessment day for Dax. He got to meet Mrs. McDevitt and, after a few moments of uncertainty and tears, he did awesome! (I forgot to take any pictures of this visit to school!) We got to see it again during the kindergarten open house and he was already more confident and eager to show Jake around his school!

Then came workshop week so I was back to school and Dax and Addy got to spend their days with Penny. They had a blast!

You may remember that my school had construction so we were starting from scratch on the first day. It was a busy week, but the classroom came together and my teaching partner, Sara, and I love the new set-up.

Before

Finally, the real first day arrived. Dax prepared the night before by opening the envelope from his teacher, which contained "Ready Confetti" to sprinkle under his pillow to ensure a good night's sleep. Then he begged me to take a picture of him in bed on his last night before school like we have in past years.

Thankfully he woke up just as excited and, for the first day, Jake and I were both able to stay home a little later to walk him to the bus. It was a special morning together and then he was off. It was my turn to shed a few tears - tears of sadness because I was going to miss him on my days off, nervous tears to be sending my baby on a big bus off to a big school with SO many new things, but most of all tears of joy to see how prepared and brave he was in starting this new journey.