First Day

It's here!  Finally, the first day of school is here!

I have been simultaneously dreading and looking forward to this day.  I'm excited to begin the next phase of life.  I will no longer be just the mom of young children.  For now and for the next eighteen years, I will be a mom of a school-aged child.  It is a new reality in many ways, for all of us.

Emma is going to a charter school, which for those of you not able to experience "School Choice", is  publicly funded like a regular public school, but privately run.  Parents and community leaders determine the curriculum and focus of the school.  Emma's school is a "traditional" school- traditional academic values rather than current educational fads.  They learn Spalding reading and writing, Singapore math, and Latin instruction from 1st grade on.  I am excited for the educational opportunities, but was worried the "fun" of school might be lost.  A tour of the school and introduction to her classroom put my worries to rest.  It's a beautiful school with all the bright colors, fun room decor, and class/school activities any parent would want their child to experience.  I also like that it has a strong LDS population (including her teacher!), a focus on patriotism, and welcome Christianity in the context of history and everyday life.

She has been so excited for school, it's all I've heard about for the last several weeks.  Because her school moved to a new location this year, we started 3 weeks later than everyone else here in Phoenix.  So, everyone around us has been in school and we've been just waiting...and waiting...and waiting.  This morning, she was up, bright and early, excited for THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!  Somehow I forgot I would need to get THREE kids ready in order to take her to school, so were a little rushed getting ready.  We did get some picture time in:

Of course, she has a pink backpack.  Pink is her favorite color.

Since she goes to a charter school with students from all over the valley, there is no bus.  That means 412 kids have to be dropped off.  Needless to say, it was mass chaos the first day.  We wanted to park and walk her inside, and it was CRAZY.  Marcus got a quick picture of her at her desk



and we were off.  Kyle wanted to stay and kept telling me he was five years old too, but we made it out without any drama.  Emma was happy to stay and didn't even look back as we left.  Not that I expected her too.  She's my Miss Independent.

Now Drew is napping, Kyle is watching Mickey Mouse, and I am enjoying these few minutes of quiet time before I do some cleaning around the house.  It's strange to have her gone, but definitely RIGHT.  It's time.