What a difference

a year makes! Yesterday we went for Orientation at Caroline and Katherine's school. Caroline will be returning as an extended day student (this is Montessori's equivalent of kindergarten) and Katherine will be beginning her toddler year.

We went to this event last year and Caroline was an absolute bundle of nerves. We had moved only weeks before and school would mark yet another new and unfamiliar activity. We stayed, last year, for all of 5 minutes. Yesterday, we closed the place down... they had folded up the welcome tables, teachers were walking to their cars, doors were locked... and we stayed. Caroline will be in two classrooms and we went to each twice. We went to Katherine's classroom twice and her playground three times. Over the hour long period, I watched Caroline's mood visibly shift. She was calm but excited. She was confident but shy. But above all, she knew what she was doing. She knew where she going and she recognized people. What a refreshing change for all of us.

Katherine too, sensed the excitement. As we stood in one of Caroline's classrooms, she said, "I want to go my classroom too!" She ran right up to her teacher and shook her hand- after watching Caroline do the same. She walked around the classroom saying, "my fish", "my chairs."

As we pulled out of the parking lot, Caroline was beaming and Katherine shouted, "That was fun!"

You really can't ask for more than that.