Cole's First Day of School

Cole started first grade this year.  When did my baby grow up? 

When we got to class for the Open House, Cole was beyond excited to know that his best buddy Ethan was in class with him, along with 11 other kids from his Kindergarten class.  Once Cole met Mrs. Redmond and saw his room (she had a Star Wars poster!) and learned about his friends being in class with him, he went from nervous to 'mostly excited'. 

A sign that my sweet boy was growing up was the fact that he picked out a Star Wars t-shirt for his special back to school shirt, instead of the personalized school shirt that I was willing to have made for him.  In hindsight, he got far more use out of the $5 t-shirt than he would the $20 personalized shirt.  Cole had also picked out a Star Wars backpack and lunchbox, so he couldn't have been more pleased with his outfit!

Cole has to ride the bus three mornings a week so Kara can get to preschool.  The school likes the students to follow their normal routine, so Cole rode the bus his first day.  Cole isn't excited about the bus - getting on when it's crowded and having to be on it for very long.  There are a number of stops in our neighborhood, but we picked the first one (so he would be one of the first kids on the bus) and since school is so close he is only on the bus for 10-15 minutes.  

 Kara and I then drove to school to watch him get off the bus and wait for school to start.  Mrs. Redmond knew what she was doing, and didn't even have the parents enter the school.  We watched everyone get greeted, then they turned and said goodbye to us before they went to their classroom.

 Everyone had a minute to talk to Mrs. Redmond (while marking their hand as to how they would be getting home!).

Mrs. Redmond asked for the class to show her their smiles before starting their day.

And just like that, my boy was gone!

I know it's only until 3:45, and I still had Kara to keep me company.  I wasn't overly sad for myself, because I was honestly looking forward to some alone time every week.  And I knew Cole would love school, because he just does.  But would he be able to manage his lunchbox?  Would he use the bathroom if he needed to?  Would he be able to find his friends on the playground?  Would he be all tired and blah at the end of the day?  In the end, there was no need to worry.  Cole adjusted really well and loved just about everything about school.  He is pretty good about sharing what happened during the day and tells me little snippets of things that are important to first graders.  

I think what really hit me the most is that we aren't going to have very much time to spend with Cole during the week anymore.  In the 4 hours between when he gets home from school and when he gets ready for bed, we have to eat, do homework, take a shower...so there isn't much time left for us to do anything fun together.  I know other families have already made this adjustment because both parents work, but that isn't our norm.  Cole is really a good, fun, sweet kid and I'm going to miss spending a good part of our day together, just doing whatever we want.  Homeschooling is looking better and better!  (I kid.  Kind of.)

And to end on a lighter note, here is Cole with our traditional back to school cake.  I saw it in a magazine years ago and thought it was a neat way to mark each year of school.  I should have thought ahead to realize that they wouldn't be using chalkboards anymore and the kids wouldn't even know what it is.  But they know it's tradition, and we'll have one every year!  : )  And look, Kara's name is on it for the first time!

Have a great year Cole!  Mrs. Redmond will be proud to have you in her class!