Cole's first day of school.
He is officially in first grade at our local Waldorf charter school.
How are we all doing with that, you ask? We are running the gamut of emotions - you name the feeling, we've all felt it in the past week.
Cole loves school. He is excited to leave the house in the mornings and tells us enthusiastically bits and pieces about his day every dinner. However, drop offs are still pretty rough - lots of tears and heartbreak on both our parts.
The good: The school is amazing. I adore Waldorf education for a lot of reasons (separate post for all those!) but this school is small and intimate and I already feel an incredible sense of community. The principal greets Cole by name and sends me personalized emails. Cole's teacher is sweet and fantastic, and I have absolutely no qualms about leaving my firstborn in her hands. Cole reported that his class was having a wiggly chatty day and weren't paying attention - his teacher's response was to give them an extra recess so they could refocus. Most public school teachers would withhold or cancel recess - a normal response, but not helpful for wiggly little guys. I love how many integrated activities are part of the curriculum (Spanish and French, music, handwork, woodworking, physical activity). I have full confidence that Cole will thrive in such an environment!
It's nice to have some alone time with Chase and Isla while Cole is at school - not having to listen to arguing between Cole and Chase, and having long stretches of quiet time is very different and relaxing.
I'm also hugely grateful to have a spot in this amazing school. There's only 26 spots in each class (one class per grade), so the waitlist is 40-50 kids! I'm so glad we got in - and siblings get first priority, so in a few years when Chase and Isla are ready for kindergarten, they'll get an amazing Waldorf school experience from the beginning.
The bad: I miss my big boy!! It's a HUGE transition. It's a little bit heartbreaking to realize that I will never have the time at home with Cole that we've had for his whole life. The days are long - it's a full school day away from home which is a lot! Also, I loathe change... and this is a BIG change! It will take a while to get into the groove of a new routine, and it's extra tricky trying to meet all three kids' needs - making sure Chase and Isla get their naps on time while still making sure I pick up Cole and drop him off at school on time. We've never really been tied down to someone else's schedule, so it's tricky to wrap my mind around having to be somewhere at a certain time. I miss Cole a lot when he's gone ALLLLLLL day - I miss him for him, but I also miss his help! He's a huge help around the house and with Chase and Isla.
It will be awesome. Cole will do SO well and I'm so excited for him to begin his education journey!
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