The Last Day!

I've been avoiding writing this post. I've been thinking about it a lot, and I've started writing it a bunch of times. But I haven't be able to finish. Hormonal pregnant me can't believe how fast time has flown by (yet again). I'm not ready to say goodbye to the toddler class at Gia's preschool. I not ready for my baby to turn three!    But alas, such is life. Time goes on and sometimes it's bittersweet.      Gia typically goes to school Tuesdays and Thursdays. On Tuesday, Gia brought in cupcakes to celebrate her summer birthday, which she was so excited about. She truly thought it was her birthday all day.  She was given a crown to wear and she kept it on the entire 2.5 hours of school and the rest of the day. And the next 2 days too. She told me they sang to her but there were no candles. No fire in school, she said.   

  Wednesday is not her normal day to go to school but since it was the last day, all the children were invited. They played outside and then had an ice cream social, which Gia absolutely loved. She couldn't stop talking about the "colorful sprinkles and white ice cream".   One of the mothers took up a collection for Gia's teachers, which we contributed to, but we also wanted to give them something else--something special from us. So, together Gia and I made them chalkboard mugs. (Thank you Pinterest!)   I bought 2 huge mugs from Bed, Bath & Beyond, and ordered special chalkboard paint made for porcelain. (Contrary to popular belief you can't just use the spray stuff you get at Michael's. I got the special kind from Amazon.)   Then I created a stencil using construction paper. Gia helped me paint inside the stencil and then we let them dry for 24 hours.   

 Then we baked them for 30 min in the oven (350 degrees). Once they were dry I wrote #1 teacher on them in chalk, and put a Starbucks gift card and a piece of chalk inside each one.

Gia proudly handed out the gifts on her last day. It really was the perfect end to a wonderful six months.    But here's the part that gets me: Gia has grown up in so many ways in the past six months and so much of it was because of school.  Sure, she's a little taller, no longer takes a nap or has a monitor in her room. Yes, she knows all the ABCs and can even recognize the letters in print, but there's so much more.   

    When I wrote about her first day of preschool I mentioned that we decided to send her to school at 2.5 to avoid her being bored at home. Now that we're done with these six months, I can honestly say it was the best decision for Gia. She's a very active and very bright child and without school I know that boredom would have undoubtedly led to acting out at home.   

    Instead, we got to watch this beautiful little girl blossom. From school she learned to wait her turn and to have patience. She isn't demanding; she asks for things nicely 99% of the time. She follows directions really well and she can be trusted to do so many things on her own. I can tell her to go get a pair of socks from her room, put them and her shoes on, and she happily will--with no help from me.  She shares, and she is kind. She sings songs and plays by herself, yet she also enjoys the company of other kids and plays well with them. She's learned the days of the week and she knows what days she goes to school. She is sad on days when there is no school. She is creative and thriving. And that makes me one happy mama.    

Side by Side: first day and the last day