1st Days Back

Today was both Eliza's and Daniel's first days back. Both kids were pretty excited to be going back and had a few nerves. Both kids were keen to see their friends again and to meet their teachers. Eliza has been chatting about being in Sue, Dianne and Myra's class and that she is sooooo excited! This was so wonderful to hear. Daniel was curious who his teacher would be but was excited to see his friends again. We did our traditional photos out the front.

We dropped Eliza off at preschool first. James was able to work from home so could come to drop them both off which the kids really liked. Eliza was straight into the routine. She washed her hands, unpacked her bag and then waited to sign in her name. Eliza was written with dots so she wrote over it, then wrote her own name next to it and also included Noble. She was quite proud of herself for doing that. She then sat down and started to play with the magnet blocks and the princess dolls. I loved seeing her so relaxed, so comfortable and so happy. I had been nervous about how she would go with separation at preschool. On Sunday she wasn't very happy or keen to go to Kids Church and was clinging to James for him to stay. I was worried this would happen this morning but of course, didn't say anything to Eliza, but she was great!

Eliza, I am so proud of you. I am so proud of you for having the courage to enter your new classroom with a smile on your face. I am so proud of you for chatting comfortably with your teachers. I am so proud of you for giving us both a cuddle and a kiss and then going back to your activity without any tears. Having tears and feeling nervous are totally fine and if you did that, I still would have been proud of you, but you have overcome some of those worries and have learnt how to control them and I saw you apply these skills today. Well done my angel. I hope that you have a wonderful year in Sue's class. I am sure you will! I can't wait to see your imagination thrive this year, I can't wait to see your friendships grow and see your personality continue to develop. I can't wait to see how you cope in different situations. It is going to be a wonderful year!

At the end of the day, Eliza said that it was a great day. She had a lot of fun and especially loved playing with a friend, Ayla. He highlight was rolling around on the ground with Ayla laughing a lot. She enjoyed having dress ups outside too. So glad that she had a lovely day and is keen to go back again next week.

After dropping off Eliza we then headed back home and walked to school. Daniel had his last walk with Bluey who had spent the holidays with us. He put down his bag and then lined up when they music started. The kids then headed off with their old teachers back to their own old classrooms.

Daniel, I am so proud of you. I admire your confidence and your willingness to give new things a go. I am proud of the way you handled your nerves and just went with the flow. I am proud of the friend you are to others. While you might like stirring up your sister at the moment, which does sadden me, I know that you love her still and that you care for all those around you. I am so proud of all that you learnt and achieved in Kindy and can't wait to see the young man you continue to grow into this year. I know that you will make new friends. I know that you will welcome new students into the class. I know that you will try your best again this year. It is going to be a wonderful year for you too! Year 1 is a year where you will thrive.

At the end of the day I met Daniel outside his old classroom. He is still in the same block so that is helpful. He walked out with just his clip folder but had a big smile on his face. Just what I want to see. I sent him back in to get his bag and hat too because they are a little bit important. He told me that his teacher is Miss Hellyer and he is in 1H. She was a year 5 teacher last year and has moved down to Year 1. (Same situation I was in). He said that she was really nice. He only has a few people from his old class in 1H which I am a little bit sad about but Daniel doesn't seem to mind. I think I am a bit more nervous about the new connections with parents that I will need to make, my security blanket of Anne is not there anymore because Lachie is in a different class, but that will be ok. A great opportunity to meet some new people and make new connections. I am proud of Daniel being fine with it and not upset or nervous about being in a different class with different people. He told me that his favourite part of today was playing in the playground. He also told me that Miss Hellyer's old class were very noisy and she was so pleased when the kids worked so quietly today for her when doing their first task. Daniel even told me that he was so quiet and worked really hard and finished his work on time. I hope this continues this year! He is excited to go back tomorrow which is good. He also starts piano lessons tomorrow which will be exciting! I hope they go well. 

Well done kiddies! Alexander and I spent the day shopping, ate lunch together and then having rest time. It was very quiet during rest time, almost awkward. I was missing the kids a bit. But I also really valued having some quiet time, some me time. I need to try and take advantage of those times.