Maia's first day of school!

From First Day of School

Yesterday (Wednesday) morning was a big day for our family--Maia went to her first day of preschool at Triangle Cooperative Nursery! Her three-year-old class gets together two days a week, on Mondays and Wednesdays, from 9:00-11:30 AM. As previously mentioned, she had a mild cold on Monday and so we kept her home from school, but she was all clear and ready to go by yesterday morning. Rather than dropping her off at the door with one of the parent volunteers (the regular procedure), we all got there a bit early and took some photos to record the event. She really just wanted to be done with all the photo taking and get herself in the door, so Brian and Eli and I found ourselves watching her start her school day within just a few minutes. Thankfully, there was no separation anxiety, no worries about Mom and Dad leaving. It was time for school to start, and time for Mom and Dad to go!

We've known a few alumni families from Triangle, and there are consistent, across-the-board raves about Maia's teacher, Ms. Mariann. Maia was very eager to see her and to begin asking her questions; interestingly, she already sees teachers as "holders of knowledge" (the best expression I can come up with) who will be ready and able to answer all questions. Maia's most pressing concerns: learning to read, and asking Ms. Mariann why different dinosaurs eat different food items. Brian pointed out to her a couple of days ago that her very own Mommy is a teacher, and is also skilled in teaching kids how to read, but Maia showed no interest in learning from me. Clearly, "Mom" and "teacher" are separate and distinct categories for her. :)

After dropping her off at school, I took Brian to work and Eli and I went downtown for the duration of the time that she'd be at school. We went to pick her up at the school playground at 11:30, and, as I expected, she didn't want to leave. She was also a bit reluctant to talk about her day, and we've still only heard bits and pieces about her experience. She seems very protective of the fact that it's her experience, separate from us. I'm guessing that there's something significant going on her in terms of Maia's feelings of independence, and growing sense of agency and self. It's interesting ... just this morning she was talking about herself as an adult, and she said "I'll still be Maia, but I'll be all grown up."

It will be interesting to see how she reacts to Monday, which is our first "assist parent" day. This is an integral part of the co-op structure (and part of what makes it much more affordable)--parents are the ones responsible for bringing snacks, checking kids in, setting up projects, and establishing an appropriate adult/child ratio. What that means (along with a whole host of parental-involvement things) is that a co-op doesn't need to pay for assistant teachers or custodial staff or that sort of thing. Anyway, Brian will be taking off from work and assisting on Monday, and we'll see how Maia processes the school experience when one of her parents is there the whole time.

We're so very thrilled and happy for Maia, and for this new big step in our family's life!