Last Day of {her first year of} Preschool

Oh, my sweet Charlotte Jane is growing up entirely too fast!  She has already experienced her first and last day of a school year.  How is that possible?

After a very positive experience in the birth to three program, Charlotte was transitioned to a developmental preschool program via the public school district.  This happened the day after she turned three years old - six months ago now.  I was not planning to send her to preschool until the fall when she'll be almost four years old, and it wasn't an easy decision to make.   I wasn't ready for her to be gone four afternoons a week.  I wasn't sure she was ready to be away from me either.  {We both had a lot of separation issues!}  She seemed so young to be carrying a backpack and sitting for circle time and having recess! 

 She qualified for both speech and social delays and has an IEP with very specific goals.  She joined a class with three teachers and seven other students - only one of which was a girl.  She was the smallest and the youngest, and the transition was not easy.  But we stuck with it, she got use to it and eventually stopped crying when I dropped her off.  In fact, it was really wonderful to see her smiling at school, to hear her talking about friends, and to experience some progress toward her goals.  

We settled into a routine.  I even managed to find ways to spend two kid-free hours four days a week. Some more productive than others if I am being honest. Just like that June rolled around, and we found ourselves having to say good-bye to those friends and her first teachers.  

The celebration included a cookie with chocolate frosting ...

an elephant ride ... {We have been waving to this elephant on the way to and from school for the past month.  Charlotte loved that elephant until I popped the quarters in and it began to gallop!}

 a stop to see the falls ...

and a climb up and down many, many stairs ... {Charlotte reacts to a good set of stairs the way children react to Christmas morning!}

 {love when she proclaims, "I did it!"}

 Here we are together, but she's completely ignoring me and asking to climb the stairs again ;)

We have a fun-filled summer ahead of us and two more years of preschool before kindergarten!