There she is with her sleepy little grin. You can't see it, but she's wearing the shoes she picked out (hand-me-down hot pink crocs from her cousin Anna that are a smidge too big), the size 12-month jeans that still fit, this 12-month t-shirt that she also wore through most of last school year, and of course the headband. We tried out a few bow/clip/headband options and she chose this navy one to match her jeans. She was so proud, she ran out to show her dad her back to school outfit this morning.
Evelyn's first day of school is today. This year she is moving out of her old classroom (Abejitas) and into the Mariquitas room. That translates to "Little Ladybugs" which is of course ADORABLE (as I blurted out at parent night when they told us the translation and my head exploded with images of ladybug decorations, costumes, cookies...). The room is for 18-24 month olds, and there is so much good news coming along with the move. First, our incredible teacher Miss Cristina is moving up with the kids. Her assistant will be Miss Cynthia, who has worked with the Abejitas before she left for maternity leave so the kids know her and she knows them. She and Miss Cristina are going to be a great team and I am just thrilled. Second, we are getting reunited with the older Abejitas who made the move up to the Mariquitas room a while back. So we know all of the kids and their parents!
We learned at parent night last week that there will be some fun things to learn this year. The Mariquitas are all on the same schedule, so they take one long nap every day from 12:30-2:30, and they take this nap on mats on the floor! We will all take a moment of silence for Miss Cristina and Miss Cynthia at 12:30 today as they begin teaching 12 squirmy toddlers to stay on their mats for two hours. Evelyn had been on a mat in the Abejitas room for a while (they transition from the crib as soon as the kids can handle it), but there were only a couple of kids on mats and they didn't always nap at the same time so there weren't issues. Miss Cristina assured us that they figure it out and soon everyone is on their mat and napping. They also start learning to line up and do more things for themselves, like climbing little steps up to the sink to wash their own hands. They'll all eat together family-style for meals, and brush teeth after. I think those were the biggest changes. Miss Cristina is excited to have this room, because with the kids all on the same schedule it allows for more storytimes, games, etc. with the whole group and less constant focus on time since the last feeding/diaper change (though they'll still be changed every 2 hours per health dept. rules).
I'm super excited for this year. Praying that Evelyn doesn't bite. Hoping she starts to really talk more soon - I'd take English or Spanish! I know she'll have fun and get to play in a safe and enriching place all day and I'm so happy for that. I feel like I'll be out of the loop a bit - looks like I'll need to leave for my internship before 6 every morning so Jonathan will be doing all school drop-offs this year. But depending on when I get to leave and if the logistics work out, I might be able to do pick-ups... Either way we'll figure it out. It's going to be a crazy year. But at least Evelyn's schoolday is not something I'm stressing about!
Congrats on starting another year, my little Mariquita!
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