As an extra special treat on her birthday, Amelie started preschool! We found a wonderful little school for her. Her teacher, Miss Rebecca, runs the Montessori preschool out of her home and she even does Kindermusik with the kids every Wednesday! You can check out this article for more information on what a Montessori education looks like and here’s some information about Kindermusik if you’re interested. I’m very excited about both.

It was fun to have her first day of school be on her birthday–it made the day even more special for Amelie. Because it was her birthday, I came in and did a little show and tell with some of Amelie’s favorite things and I got to watch as she experienced a lovely Montessori birthday tradition. The teacher had all the children sit in a circle and she lit a candle and placed it in the middle of the circle. Then she gave Amelie a small globe of the earth and had her walk around the candle holding the globe. The candle represented the sun and so Amelie walked around the sun three times to represent the three years she’s been alive. The children sang a song about the months, weeks, and days of the year while she walked and for each year, I said something special that she did that particular year. It was really sweet and almost had me in tears. I just can’t believe she’s 3!

Here are some pictures from that first day:

I had fun detailing her school bag. She was supposed to bring a canvas tote with her name on it and I couldn't help adding the cute buttons.

Off to school!

On Thursday, her little class had a balloon send-off to welcome in the new school year. She looks so small here--she must be standing next to the big kids. And note to self: her cute little bare midriff means she has outgrown that shirt 🙂

After the class sang, "Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver and the other gold," they let the balloons go and watched them disappear into the sky. When I went over to Amelie, she was looking for her balloon and saying, "Bye, balloon! Happy new school year!"

Amelie truly enjoyed her first week at preschool. She seems completely at ease there and whenever I drop her off, she runs over to some engaging activity set up around the classroom without a moment’s hesitation. I will be coming in to do some Spanish time with the class once a week and I am really looking forward to getting to spend that time with her and the other children and being a part of this fun new experience.