First day of Kindergarten!

Our little sweetie has officially started kindergarten!! Mara has been ready and waiting for this day for a very looooooong time!! She was super excited for school...that is, after she had a good cry in the morning! Nate and I went in her bedroom to wake her up and I laid on her bed by her to wake her up and she started to cry! Mara said "I just don't think I can go to school today....I don't want to stay and eat my lunch (Kindergarten is all day here!)....I want to stay here with you and Caleb and Carder....what if I don't have any friends!! She cried and cried! Oh dear! Where is this coming from?! She had been so excited! She was now very nervous and was so sad. She came in my room and all I could think to do to help her was kneel down with her and say a prayer. So we did. And thank goodness prayers are heard and answered! She felt a little better after our prayer and by the time it was time to go she had a smile on her face and was excited again about school!

What a big girl! I can't tell you how sad I was to lose my best friend, best helper, best baby sitter! I'm happy for Mara, she is going to have a great time in kindergarten, but I really didn't want to see her go!

I had a real struggle trying to decide what to do about Mara and school, usually your kid turns 5 and you send them to school, however with Mara her birthday was on the deadline so I had a choice. I had decided clear back even before she was born I would have her be the oldest and keep her back (hence her scheduled c-section on the 1st of Sept and not August 31st!) But now that it was here and I realize how advanced Mara is on reading, math, and writing I questioned whether I had done the right thing!

After a lot of praying, talking to friends and family, and to other teachers I decided to keep Mara in Kindergarten and not move her up to 1st grade! I went to Mara's class and observed and saw how much fun she was having and how much she loved it and decided that was where Mara needed to be!

I'm so glad Mara has a big brother to look up to at school. She doesn't see Ty at school much, but it's just nice to know they are both there together!

Our newest Castle Height Knight! When we arrived at school and found Mara's class we realized Mara was a foot taller than anyone in her class! She is by far the tallest! Another concern for her being in Kindergarten!

Mara has the best teacher: Miss Melissa! I was very excited to find out Mara has Miss Melissa, she is fun, energetic, loves the children, super cute, and I've only heard wonderful things about her!

When I went to pick up Mara from school she was all smiles! The first thing she said was "I love school! I can't wait to go back!" Yay for Mara Lew!! Here's to a great year!