Back To School

We have been lucky that Berit never had any preschool jitters. In fact, we sent her to preschool as soon as she turned 3 years old in February, right in the middle of the year, because she was ready in a big way for structure and activity beyond what we were doing at home. She thrived.

This year she's in the 4 and 5-year-old class, since last year she was in the 3-year-old group and she's moving on with the same crew. I wasn't sure if she'd care about going back to school, really, because she was there for camp once a week during the summer and was neither thrilled nor bothered by going. However, when she heard it was back-to-school day for her this morning, she could not get out the front door fast enough. We nearly had to physically restrain her to snap a picture before she tumbled down the steps and raced to the car.

When I picked her up today, I noticed that she was different from last year. She was robust and talkative, and not quiet and thoughtful. She ran off with her friends and chatted merrily. She came up with clever ideas and never wondered whether she'd be going back again, but is just assuming that it's part of her life. She was STARVING and tired.

Marta had a first today, as well. She went to "gymnastics" for the first time in her memory, and she had a fun time but I could tell she missed her playmate big sister. A local gymnastics center offers a play hour twice a week, and Monday's session coincides nicely with Berit's school, so that's where Marta and I will be. While Berit was obsessed with jumping on the big trampoline when she went there from ages 18 months - 3 years old, Marta wanted to RUN and CLIMB. She ran down the long trampoline as fast as she could, and her little knees came right up to her chest as she bounced and wiggled down the runway. At the end her body couldn't hold her bouncy gait upright any longer and she'd crash down in what looked like a painful tumble of limbs and head, but she'd only pause for a second before popping up and doing it all over again. She also loved sliding down the mats and plastic slides, where Berit was afraid to slide on anything until she was 3 years old.

A good day for all, and a positive outlook for the rest of the week. Loads of writing, our two-week cloth diaper trial, and sunny weather to kick off fall. And let's not forget Mosey's fifth birthday this Sunday, for which we are making his favorites (chicken, scrambled eggs, cookies and bacon) and a bone-shaped chocolate cake.