Gracie's Last Day of "Big Girl" School

Well, my Gracie Girl did it! The last four Mondays, she was enrolled in a class called "3's, that's me." Basically it was a class designed for 3 year olds to see how well they do in class by themselves. Since Gracie really just turned 3 like a week before the class started, I was a little nervous to see how it would go. Day 1 went well. The teachers stand outside the room and call the kids names one by one, give them a name sticker, and then send them into the room by themselves. The first day, she went right in. Of course, I stayed in the waiting area and kept peeking in the window. There was a little bit of crying the first day but it went good. She played and sang songs, but didn't do the movements. The 2nd and 3rd day, the teacher needed to come get her and put her in the classroom. Today, her last day, she ran right in again. Today was the best overall. She played at the different stations and kept going over to her teachers to show them what she had made. She played animals with the other kids and even took some time to read some books. When it was circle time, she sang along and did the movements. Today she was even smiling! I know she had fun. When it was over, I was very happy to discover that Miss Darlene, the girl on the left, will be one of her teachers when she goes to preschool in a few weeks. Yep, my little girl is off to preschool 2 days a week shortly. That's why I thought that this class would be a good way to slowly get her used to doing classes all by herself. She is proud of herself too. It really is bittersweet for me. On one hand, I am so proud of her and excited for her going to school and learning and making new friends and gaining independance. On the other hand, I am sad to think that she is old enough to be able to even go! That is my baby! And while I sadly won't be the one to take her and pick her up everyday, I will be there for her first day. She will only have one first day of preschool and it will be a pretty important day. I wouldn't miss it for the world. Good luck my Gracie Girl! Mommy is so proud of you!