It was a big day around here at the Mac house – Clarie had her first day at a new preschool.  Her last preschool closed back in the spring, which worked out well because I wanted to keep her home with Sammy and I on those two days.  She’s stayed in nannyshare with Adam, Sammy and G the three days a week while I work.  It’s been going well, but increasingly challenging to meet the social and academic needs of the “big kids” while keeping up with the very basic needs of Baby Sam.  Now that G’s little sister, sweet Baby M, will be joining nannyshare it’s come time to graduate Clare and G to preschool. 

So today was the day!  We found a very nice little Montessori school near our house, and we’ve decided to send the kiddos to school together.  We happened to arrive this morning at the same time and the kids were sooooo excited to see each other.  They are in different classrooms in the morning, but will be together in the afternoon. On one level I feel pangs of “sniff sniff, my baby’s growing up!” but on a much larger note it’s such a thrill to watch Clare have greater life adventures.

So how was the adventure?  Well, Clare LOVED her first day.  She was so excited to be there, had a great day and talked about it all evening long.  She loved being with the teacher, the other kids, having snack, reading new books, exploring new materials, having her own cubby, and just about everything you can imagine.  Tonight she told me that she “was sad that I had to leave school.”  Lucky for her, she’s going back tomorrow!

So it’s now the end of an era with Clare leaving nannyshare and going to school.  I’m so proud of our girl for embracing her new school and can’t wait to hear about her adventures.  Sammy was a little lost without his favorite Big Sister, but I stayed home from work today to help with the transition.  He helped me vacuum, we had a dance party in the living room, and read a few of his favorite books.  He will get more focused attention in nannyshare and will have more activities catered to his development, which will be so good for him.  I can’t say enough how fortunate we’ve been with our care situation.  We’ve been very blessed to form such a loving community to help us raise our children, and we don’t take it for granted even as it evolves to fit the kids’ needs.