First Day of School Feels

And just like that, Frankie is off to school. We held off on sending her to VPK for a few reasons, mostly because I was not ready. However, I noticed a change in her, a maturing that was undeniable. She wanted to start school and I didn’t want to hold her back. After months of touring different schools, we finally found one that was best suited for her. We looked at Waldorf inspired, faith based and public, but we finally settled on Montessori. All my research led me to believe that this was what she needed at this era of her life. Frankie is intelligent and shows much interest in anything science. She knows her ABC’s and can count to 30, sometimes skipping 16 for some strange reason. She is social and loves to lead and be led by others. The only place I see her needing guidance is in emotional regulation. This just so happens to be something both myself and her daddy have struggled with as well. It does not surprise me, yet I am unable to help her in this area. I have tried showing her things that I do to regulate my emotions, although it doesn’t always work when I am trying to help her. Understandably, because I am her mother and she feels safe with me, therefore, she will get wound up and sometimes I can help her calm down, and sometimes I can not. Usually when I can’t regulate my own emotions and cause escalation of strong emotions. This is why we chose the school and education style we did.

After dropping her off on the first day, I cried for at least 30 minutes, only proving my difficulty with emotional regulation. Once I got to work, I was able to focus on preparation for class, all was well. Due to my poor planning, I had to work all day and was unable to pick her up from school. This was probably a lot of my issue with dropping her off. Still, her daddy picked her up and then brought her to see me at work so that I had a chance to run out and ask how her day went, get a great big hug, and congratulate her on her completion of the very first day of school. She was so proud, and I was proud to see that she truly enjoyed her day. It was a quick visit as I was in the middle of teaching a cooking class. I could not wait to get home to hear all about her day.

That evening at dinner, I asked her what she enjoyed most about school. She said that craft and snack time was her favorite. Snack time is also momma's favorite, so that was no surprise. When I asked if she had a favorite teacher, she said that she liked them all but the one that did the crafts with her was her favorite. I met her teachers briefly and they were all very sweet and very soft spoken. Frankie will definitely benefit from having teachers with calming voices, the complete opposite of myself. Now that we are on day number three of school, she seems to be making new friends and enjoying the Montessori way. She mentioned that the class went into another classroom with older kids, it seemed to make an impression on her, because she asked me if she would be going back to her room or staying with the big kids. Frankie has always gravitated to the older kids. I always found it interesting that pre-teen children would allow her to join in play with them at the park. I guess she communicates well with them, and they seem to enjoy pretending like they are babysitting her. I often wonder if this is because for the first few years of her life, she was mainly surrounded by adults only. After all she is an only child and was around only adults during the pandemic.

One morning while I was dropping her off, one of the teachers approached me to tell me that she is very excited to send home her Thanksgiving project that says what she is thankful for. She said that she laughed so hard when she read it. She also mentioned that she truly enjoys having her in class. Knowing that she brightens the day of others, makes me so happy.

This stage of parenthood is most enjoyable. I never could have imagined that my child spreading joy to others would make me feel so happy, accomplished even. This is just the beginning of witnessing what Frankie can do to change the world, one person at a time. Her father and I look forward to watching her touch the lives of others for many years to come.