Off to School : Week One

Harper started school earlier this month. When I say school, I use the term very loosely. It is more of a mother's day out / bible school that occurs once a week for half of a day. The children have about 8 classmates and a very sweet and experienced teacher. It is mostly play based, but they attend chapel where they learn songs and have bible lessons. It is really sweet and I was so excited for Harper to get started.

Harper has always been with me. We very rarely get a babysitter...like twice a year when our families come in to town. My husband just works like crazy and our budget is tight, so we are just always together. Harper is a very outgoing little girl who always asks me if she can go say, "hi" to the other children when we are out. So, when school started, I didn't know how she would do when it was time for me to go.

We slowly made our way into the school on her first day. I made sure to show her where the bathroom was, since she was newly toilet trained and reminded her to tell her teacher when she needed to go. We walked into her room and met her teacher and the tears started. She knew what was next. I told her that I was going to go and would be back to pick her up when school was over. She clung to me and begged to go home. I stayed a while and finally the teacher suggested that I might leave and peek back in the classroom in a few minutes. So, I gave one last hug, walked out the door to my baby crying and the tears started rolling down my own face. Luckily, I saw my friends who were also dropping off their children and was comforted by their kind words of encouragement. After getting a cup of coffee, I snuck by the door and didn't hear her crying, so I drove home and had the house to myself. For the first time ever. (slight exaggeration)

When I picked her up from school, she was crying. I asked the teacher how it went, and she informed me that there was a lot of crying, but that next week would be better. I asked Harper how her day was and she said, "I sad at school, mama." So, after a lot of talking and play and explaining that I will always be back to pick her up, I hope that next week will be better for her.

p.s. harper wears jcrew dress, toms shoes, backpack by gran