Will's First Day of School: Kindergarten Edition

The long-awaited day arrived--Will finally started kindergarten.  I say "finally" because he has been looking forward to this day for an entire year, since his buddies from last summer started kindergarten.

It really wasn't a big transition for him.  After a whole lot of discussion, John and I decided to keep him at the same Christian private school where he (and Anna) have attended preschool.  We love LOVE the preschool and finally decided that it would be easiest on everyone to keep him there--that way he and Anna will be at the same place, and life (meaning drop-off and pick-up) will be simple.  And I was impressed with all that he has learned in preschool and am really impressed with what he is supposed to accomplish this year.

So basically this meant that Will moved 2 doors down the hallway to the kindergarten classroom, where he joins most of his preschool buddies along with a handful of new kids.  I think the transition was harder on me, trying to remember what exactly he needed in his backpack this morning, having to get him to school right on time, and negotiating new drop-off and pick-up procedures.  Whew!

Back to today...Will woke up bright and early and ready to go to school.

A hearty kindergarten breakfast:

I went for a quick run; when I returned, Will was fully dressed (including his backpack) and barked, "Get your clothes on Mommy!  It's time for me to go to kindergarten and it's so exciting."

John broke the news that school didn't start for another hour, so Will reluctantly removed his backpack.

Posing before Daddy left for work:

New backpack:

Posing on the front porch (little sister wasn't going to school, but she insisted on carrying a lunch box anyway):

Will usually holds my hand everyday while we walk into school, but today when I grabbed his hand, he announced, "I'm walking by myself now, Mama, because I'm big."

It was a little crazy in the classroom, with lots of parents taking lots of pictures.  The parents were the only ones talking, though--the kids were sitting quietly in their seats.  I think they had a collective case of the nerves--I've never seen a group of five-year-olds so silent.  I tried to help Will figure out where to put his lunchbox and find his seat.  Once in his seat, he posed for a quick picture with his teacher:

After that, Anna and I started walking back to the car.  I didn't think I would cry, but I did start to tear up after leaving the classroom (I think because he looked a little unsure) and wanted to get back to the car before I started crying in the hallway.  Just about that time, though, I realized Anna didn't have her lunch box.  So we headed back to Will's class and I made her sneak back in to get it--she had left it lined up with the big kids' lunch boxes.  That made me laugh and ended all tears.

When I picked him up after school, he had a big smile on his face and said he thought kindergarten was a lot of fun.  So no worries about trying to get him to go back tomorrow. :-)

And, because I can't resist, here are his previous first days...

First day of school ever, in Gainesville:

First day of daycare in Winston-Salem:

First day of K2 (he's about Anna's age here):

First day of K3:

And last year on his first day of K4 (doesn't Anna look so much bigger this year?):

So proud of him.