Tiny pajama clad photobombers in the windows.

But together.....

As silly as they are, they really do love each other. I had each kid fill out a little questionnaire after their first day, just for me to keep. On the "Who is your best friend?" line Anna wrote a string of girls names and then, "my siblings". It's so true. Their non-traditional school schedule has given them so much more time together over the years and I love how much they love each other....even when they're wrestling one another to the ground.  ;)

Nathan took these after they had arrived at school for Opening Ceremony.

I'm glad he took several of them catching up with their friends. Those are always some of my favorites. :)

Apparently there's some debate about what you call a person who plays the bagpipes. So here is the drummer, the school founder, and the bagpiper/ piper ready to lead all of the classes into the ceremony.

They had their usual speeches, prayers for students and staff, and hymns, and then they were dismissed class by class to begin their first day.

They both got in the car that afternoon full of energy and stories about their classes. Today is day 6 and both of them are loving it so far!

Small backpacks still look huge on her, but so cute! She is super happy to finally have her own.

Once we got there she marched right in, and because her class is the same as Ben's old one, she pointed down the steps and said, "Let's go!".

We hung up her backpack in her cubby, and she got right to coloring while the other kids came in. I love how her arms look like little baby arms here.  :)

We all sat down for an abbreviated circle time. Kate wanted to sit on my lap, but I really wanted her to sit on the floor like she will when I'm not there. She tried to inch back a few times, but for the most part she was happy to sit on the carpet like the other kids.

Soon it was time to do the Pledge of Allegiance. Because she is first alphabetically, Kate was already assigned as line leader and flag holder for the first week. When they called her she walked forward slowly, a little unsure, but she held the flag and listened well. This was where I thought my heart might burst. She looked so sweet and tiny, and I couldn't even let myself think of the significance of that flag in her hands.

This was the one thing she didn't like - waiting in line to go outside. She didn't really understand why we were just standing there and she kept looking at me with sad eyes and saying, "Mom, go!". Once they were all lined up the teachers led them down the hall to the playground. As they rounded the corner she lost sight of me and called out (which was adorable) but she never really got upset.

And any hesitation she had disappeared when she saw the playground. She played for a while and then we took her out for breakfast just like we had with Anna and Noah and Ben on their preschool preview mornings (heartbroken that I didn't blog his first day. I do have photos, but I blame the entire crazy year of 2014 for no official post).

The following Tuesday was her real first day, the one where we dropped her off and drove away. It was also the same day and time as Anna and Noah's Opening Ceremony for school, so Nathan and I had to divide and conquer. Because I will always be the one taking Kate to preschool, we decided that I should be the one to take her on her first day too. Ben came along with me since that was also the day we started his school at home, and they were so crazy cute together in the car. 

Ben still doesn't really understand that he's too big for preschool now and he has been a little sad that he can't go back this year. When we took Kate to her preview day he started asking us if we saw Gavin and Colin and Bennett....he thought they were all going back this year except for him! We explained how all of those friends have moved on and now Kate has her own class of new friends, and he seemed to understand. I was worried about several things as we headed to carpool. I was worried that Ben would get sad seeing Kate go into *his* school while he stayed in the car, and I was worried that Kate wouldn't know what was happening and would get upset when a stranger came to get her out of the car. As we pulled into the carpool line, she started to whimper and shake her head no when I said the word preschool. You guys, Ben was the sweetest brother ever. He started to point up at the school and say things like, "Look, Kate! That is your new preschool and it is super fun! You're going to have a good day and your teachers are so nice! You get to paint! And play outside! And eat snack and sing songs!". I was almost in tears listening to him.

The same dress that Anna wore on her first day of 4 year old preschool. Cheese face.

When carpool began, she was so excited. For a year she watched Ben do this, and now it was her turn! When the teacher opened the door she recognized Ben and said hello to him, and he said, "I really miss all of my Owl friends" with a sad face. But then he waved happily to Kate and she walked up the stairs waving and yelling, "Bye, mom! Bye!" as loud as she could. It was so cute, and so good for me to see her walk in happily! She's had three days so far, and every day she has been happy to go and smiling when she comes out. I'm so glad that she's enjoying it like the other three did.