School Days

If you know John or me at all, you know that we have been in the midst of a lot of intellectual debate (is that a PC way of saying we’ve been duking it out?) about when Helen Grace should start school. John wanted to wait another year or two, and I would rather go ahead and get her started in some sort of program. Since Grandma and Peggy ran a preschool for years on Long Island, they are obviously filling her head with more knowledge than I could ever dream of, but I want to make sure she’s learning to be independent, to mind people other than family members, and to not be a tattle tale (which she already is).

While we differ in opinions on timing, we can at least agree on where we’d like her to go. As a graduate of CBHS, John prefers a Catholic school. If we are going that route, I would prefer a mostly all girls school, so we focused on St. Agnes.

St. Agnes is co-ed for preschool, all girls for first through six grades, co-ed for seventh and eighth, and then single ed again for high school. I know it might sound crazy, but I love that the girls are never allowed to wear eye make-up and only after eighth grade are light nail polish and foundation allowed. I enjoyed (and still enjoy to some extent) growing up in a bubble, and I want Helen Grace to grow up slowly as well. I hope that at St. Agnes she will develop strong friendships with boys along the way but that she will be in an environment where she’s not scared to answer the questions in class correctly and to not have to be anxious about the cute boy sitting next to her. There are already enough distractions in life!

So back to the present…I thought it was so crazy to call so soon for info (lordy, she’s not even three!!), but I was encouraged by many to go ahead and get the ball rolling back in the fall. Sure enough, the admissions process gets underway in January. We were scheduled for her ‘play date’ (an evaluation through play with several kids and teachers) this past Saturday, so the three of us went for a tour on Friday so that she’d be comfortable there. I have been a nervous wreck as the date has gotten closer, and of course, I’ve stressed over every possible detail of the whole thing- what we all should wear, will she be shy, how will she act when we drop her off, how will she act when we’re not there, etc.

I don’t know how or why we deserved it (the Toohig bad luck is a seriously real thing), but we could not have asked for a better experience on both Friday (9:30) and Saturday (8:30) mornings. Helen Grace woke up in a good mood, she got ready easily and willingly, and we made it there EARLY. All of our outfits fell together perfectly and were appropriate. (John even commented that her outfit on Friday was the picture of prim and proper- a green smocked dress with pink polka dots, pink sweater, white tights, and pink shoes. That’s EXACTLY what I was going for!) I am still shaking my head- things like that just don’t happen so smoothly for us!

On Friday, the *awesome* admissions guy gave us a tour of the campus, and while HG was shy at first, she soon warmed up. When we entered the Early Childhood Center and she saw the enormous fish tank surrounded by animal murals, she was instantly hooked. We continued onto the preschool rooms, and she immediately wanted to go inside and explore. We would walk into a room and watch what the kids were doing, and she’d take our hand and try to pull us over to their tables. I thought we’d never get her out of the classrooms! She loved the playgrounds, music room, library (with its own section for little ones), distance learning center (where the preschoolers take virtual field trips to places all over the country), chapel with beautiful stained glass windows, etc. and kept asking, “What’s next?” By the end of the tour, she was so excited and didn’t want to leave. We bribed her with lunch with her daddy before he had to go back to work.

On Saturday morning, as we pulled up to the school, she said, “Is that my school?” She was excited about playing while Mama and Daddy went to a boring meeting, and she met a new friend, Olivia, in the parking lot. We walked into the building with Olivia and her parents, and HG was still happy…but she started to bury her head in my shoulder as we approached the drop off table and the St. Agnes high school student reached out her arms to her. Another kid nearby started screaming as he left his parents, and the panic started to set in. I tried to remain calm for her sake. Luckily, Olivia was talked into walking hand in hand with the high school girl, and when HG saw her getting out of her daddy’s arms to go with her, she also decided to go along. She even dropped Lovie in the process and was off around the corner without a second glance. We were shocked but oh so pleased.

We went off to a meeting where the president and both deans spoke to us and enjoyed getting to know some of the other parents. Soon enough, we were headed back to pick up the kiddos, and we found HG in her classroom, cooking away. She was happy to see us and dragged us around, showing us all the toys. We really had to work hard to get her out of there- she was having so much fun and didn’t want to go. As we left the ECC, she was literally skipping down the hallway. One of the staff members met us as we walked, and she asked HG if she had fun and if this was going to be her school. Helen Grace responded enthusiastically, “Yes!! Yes!!” John and I were grinning from ear to ear, watching her.

Since HG balked as we headed to the parking lot and wanted to see what was “next,” we went to check out the elementary school basketball games going on in the gym. She was fascinated by all the whistles and action, and most importantly, the bleachers. We finally convinced her it was time to go, and as we walked to the car, I asked her if she had cried when she left us. She responded like I was crazy to ask her that- “I happy! I not cry!”  What an answer to prayers. And to think I made myself sick with worry!

We will wait to see if we get an acceptance letter in February, and that will put an end to our debate about when to start her in school- 3K, 4K, or Kindergarten. At least we’ve fallen in love with a school that we feel will nurture our child in a Christian environment as she grows into a young lady, teach her through technology but also encourage her to learn through play, expose her to all kinds of amazing opportunities, and identify her strengths and help her chase her dreams. It feels so nice to see this next phase of her life starting to come into focus. Making these kinds of decisions can be tough at times, but being a parent and watching her joyful reaction is an amazing experience.