Ah, the first day of school. I used to love the first day of school. It was my second favorite school day, second only to the last day of school. The anticipation of what the new school year was to bring. The excitement of what my new classes and teachers would be like (yes, I’m serious). And of course, seeing friends again after whatever holiday just passed was always great. Yes, the first day of school was always exciting because it was a promise of a new beginning.
This school year represents the many “firsts” for my two girls. And while there is always a little anxiety that comes with new beginnings (how will they adjust? will they like this new setup? will they make friends quickly? will they grow in this particular environment? did we make the right choice in sending them here?), that anxiety is, thankfully, overpowered by the excitement we feel for them.
For our eldest, she moves on from the comforting confines of her kindergarten school to a bigger school as she enters grade school. Yes, she is only entering Grade 1, but that jump from Kinder to Grade School seems huge. The bigger school, the “stricter” rules, the big bag filled with textbooks and notebooks, and the fact that she is now in school for the whole day instead of coming home at lunch is huge.
For our youngest, she leaves the VERY comforting confines of her mom’s homeschool into her first “outside” school as she begins pre-Kindergarten classes. The school she is enrolled in, together with the fact that she is in pre-K, means that the actual “workload” (if you can call it that) still consists of basically play with very understanding and caring teachers. But the fact that she has a daily routine outside the house (at least until noon), and that she goes to an “outside” school is huge.
Education has always been high on the list of priorities on both sides of our family. And we consider ourselves abundantly blessed that we can afford this kind of education for our children, which will hopefully set them up for a lifetime of success. Looking back at my own schooling, I have to say, that I probably enjoyed the “extra-curricular” side of school a little too much. I wasn’t a bad student, and I managed to finish all my studies pretty well (even managing to get an MBA!), if not outstandingly, but let’s just say I hope my daughters take after my wife when it comes to study habits!
So, go get’em girls! Don’t take your education for granted, and realized how blessed you are to have this opportunity. From early on, you have both shown amazing aptitude and smarts, and now it’s time to develop those in more disciplined settings. We’re rooting for you all the way. Let’s do this. You got this!