First Day of School

Yesterday was the kids' first day of school. They are attending Bishop Thornton Church of England Primary School, which is a very small village school about a 4-minute drive from our house. Maddie is in the Reception class this year, which is basically pre-school, and Tim is now a Year 2, which is equivalent to first grade. As the school is so small, they are in the same classroom (there are only 2 classrooms total), and they share the same teacher, Mrs. Ward.
Maddie has been ready to start school for some time now. At the beginning of the summer, she would wake up and ask, "Is it September today?" Wasn't she mad at me on Monday, when it was September, but she still had to wait another day!
Anyway, yesterday she was ready. She just loved putting on her school uniform, and the whole package deal of having a backpack and lunch bag. As soon as Mrs. Ward opened the door to the school, Maddie just marched right in without a second thought or look back at me. I had to go in after her just to give her a hug! I got weepy for just a moment, and then wished Mrs. Ward "good luck" and made a run for it!!!
They both had a good first day. Maddie said she got tired towards the end of the day, which is very understandable. Oh, and boy did she pick up that British accent... in one day!! And Tim received great praise from his teacher for being such a big help with the other reception students. Tim is the only Year 2 student this year, and is very proud of being the oldest in his class. I was glad to hear that he was using his position to help the younger ones.

I have to admit, it was very weird being home alone yesterday, but at the same time, it felt great. What a delight it was leaving the house to go food shopping by just grabbing my purse and going! I know this freedom will be short-lived though, as baby #3 is due at the end of the month.

So now, onto my lists! I have a lot of house-cleaning, nursery-preparing, meal-freezing, etc. to do in the next few weeks. Stay put, baby Stryker!! No early surprises just yet!