Preschool has begun!!

School has begun! It started at the perfect time. We had a REALLY great summer, filled with lots of fun memories. However, the girls were just starting to get on each others nerves a lot so it was the perfect time to get a little break.

Ashley is in Pre-K 4 at OLPH with Mrs. Connolly. The aid is the same one from last year, Mrs. Obert so that was nice to have the same familiar face. She also has a lot of old friends from last year, combined with some friends she had from the previous year, mixed with some new ones. So it'll really be a great group (Not to mention, her two best friends, Tyler Livesey and Hannah Cohen are in there with her).
The four year olds get to be upstairs now, so it's a big deal. It required a longer list of necessary items to start, and Ashley received her first homework assignment ever--she had to draw a picture of her family and pets. She's already coming home and sharing what she's learned. She also got home with a report that she had a great first day!

Emily was/is technically old enough to start this year as well, but we were planning to keep her home (at least until after the holidays, then possibly start then). I'm still home most of the time (work 1 day a week), so I figured I could do a lot of the teaching myself, and we get lots of socializing with activities and play dates. Plus, we make a lot of financial sacrifices so that I can be home with the girls since it's so important to me, so we weren't sure if we could afford to send both for the full school year. However, Emily is just SOOOO ready. She did a fantastic job at Vacation Bible School for the week with the older kids, and absolutely LOVED it. She's fully potty trained now, and she is so independent and keeps up with the older sister and friends so well. She was ready and wanting it. I wanted it so badly for her. So, we were able to make it work out and decided to send her as well.
Emily was so excited to go to "the big girl school". She has Ashley's old classroom and teacher, Mrs. Hamm, who I really liked. Also, one of her best buddies, Sammy Cohen, is in her class with her. Mrs. Hamm said that Emily was a pro, it's like she had already been there. She picked up on everything right away, followed the program, had no issues with the potty, etc. Great first day. She's already asking to go back.

I just can't get over how big my girls are getting. They're growing up right before my eyes. That is why I'm so thankful I'm home with my girls. Being a (practically) stay at home mom can be very hard, demanding and exhausting at times (a working mom who had started staying home for maternity leave said she found it harder to be home all day even), but I feel like time goes so fast as it is, and they're growing so quickly. I'd be heartbroken to think of all the precious times and memories I'd miss out on if I were out of the house all the time. Very blessed in this day and age.