first day of junior kindergarten

[ The whole purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows. ~S. Harris ]

My parents used to talk about how time flies when you're older, I would look at them like they were crazy! As a child it seemed the opposite, especially if I was looking forward to something like Christmas or summer holidays or my birthday. Well, I totally get it now...in fact, I've been 'getting it' for a few years now. It seems like time has decided to speed up on me!

Today my beautiful girl started JK - my little 4 year old. She just seems too young and little to be starting JK. It just seems like yesterday that we were in China, rocking her to sleep. On the other hand, this summer seems to have handed her an overdose of independance and maturity, and underneath it all, I know she's SO ready for school. She's been at home with me for almost 3 years now, she's a complete and utter socializer, who can't get enough of being around and playing with her peers.

Yeah, she's ready. But am I? I'm not sure if I'll ever be ready, that's the problem!

So it goes without saying that my favourite part of today was when she came running out of the school doors, (I was kneeling down) and she ran straight into my arms for a big bear hug and kiss. I think it was at that point I teared up, because it just felt so good to have her back in my arms. And also, I could tell how happy she was about school, she couldn't wipe that massive grin off her beautiful face. Seeing her happy makes me the happiest person on earth.

She's been home a few hours now and I've heard many stories about school. She's been role playing 'being the teacher'. She's been drawing and writing. And everything she does, she tells me, "I'm drew this for Diane (her teacher). I'm going to show this to her." It's only her first day, but I can already tell that there is an underlying adoration building for her teacher and that makes me so happy, because I really believe teachers have a huge influence on our children.

One of the funny moments of today was when I asked Lilah what she learned on her first day of school, she immediately said "Bonjour", but it sounded more like bon-joar!! It might be her Northern Irish twang! I asked her what bonjour meant and she said: "It means hello in Quebec!" Haha - priceless! She also started calling me Madame Jill! She told me her French teacher is called Madame Julia. So she's at school for 2.5 hours... and 20 minutes of that time is dedicated to French. They have a French teacher that comes into their class and teaches them French. Our 4 year old will likely know more French than both us parents put together after just one week! I must admit, that part cracks me up!

Another thing she mentioned to me is that she didn't put her cardigan on in class because it was very hot. Her exact words were: "It was 13 DEGREES in the classroom, really exhausting!"

This school talk is very entertaining. I'm pretty sure there'll be many more laughs on the horizon!

The first photo is Lilah with a picture she drew when she got home. She told me it's a picture of herself (with extra long hair to her feet!) skating on the Rideau Canal! On the next page she wrote some letters and told me the teacher said she should write some letters for her Mom. So there they are. Truly, these are the moments I never want to forget.

[ flickr set is here ]