First day of school

Wednesday was Emma's first day of her second year of kindergarten. We decided at the end of last year that a repeat would be the best...I mean most appropriate...choice for school this year. We wanted her to have more of a chance to develop her speech and social skills, and to hopefully develop some peer relationships. Her class last year was wonderful, and all the kids accepted Emma as Emma, but most of them treated her as a baby sister. They did things for her, they spoke for her, and they coddled her. This year, Emma is the BGOC - the Big Girl on Campus. Her teacher (same one as last year) called me at home last night to tell me what an amazing first day Emma had. She had Emma help with all of the first day things, and Emma showed all the other kids how to do calendar, what to do with backpacks, the routine for getting ready for recess, everything. It is so empowering for Emma to be the one who knows what to do, while the other kids are still struggling to adapt. She has to work so hard to achieve so many things, and to see her mentoring the other kids makes me happy beyond words. I have great hopes for this year.

I was a little worried about what her classmates from last year would think about Emma repeating kindergarten, but I should have known better. At the school's open house barbecue, we saw her buddies Kanon and Caleb, who asked if Emma was going to be in Mrs. M's class with them this year. When I told them she would have Mrs. Y again, they both yelled, "No fair! We want Mrs. Y again! How come she gets to do that?" Nothing like a couple of new first-graders to put things in perspective.

Here's a picture of my girl yesterday. She was so ready to go, she couldn't stop dancing.