Violet's First Day of School

Today marked the start of pre-school for our big girl.  She was VERY excited, and managed to hold off tears until I was just ready to leave--and I think it was more of a domino effect of other kids crying than it was her actually not wanting to be there.  I got word that the tears had stopped very shortly after I had left. 

This year of pre-school is kind of a testing of the waters for us.  With a September birthday, Violet falls on the cut-off date of many states for kindergarten eligibility.  Michigan has a tremendously late cut-date (Dec. 1) so Violet would make that with no problem next year, but since Ben and I are both teachers, we know what a big difference 4 months can make in a 5 year old.  So, we'll see.  We have no doubts that academically she will be ready, but we want to make sure that socially she's not always trying to keep up.  So, we'll see how things go, and let the guidance of our knowledgeable pre-school teacher help us make that decision next spring. 

We are very happy with the pre-school we have selected.  It's a little inconvenient, but feel very comfortable leaving Violet in this teacher's hands.  It also helps that they will be transporting her to her daycare after pre-school is over, which allows me to put in a full day of work during normal hours and not having to make up hours throughout the week.

Here are some pictures of Violet as she headed off to her first day of school--can't believe we're already marking the beginning of having school-age children!