Young House Love

Home Decorating & DIY Tutorials

| By | | 130 Comments

First Day of School, 2013

It happened again. Our little lady is back in preschool.

Clara Preschool 2013

And the difference from last year’s first day photo nearly put our jaws on the floor. We knew she had grown, but wow.

Clara Side By Side2

Since her monthly photo project stopped at her 3rd birthday, it was fun to break out this other photo tradition and snap some pictures. Although I had forgotten about the weird results when you say things like “smile big!”

Clara Preschool Yelling More

“No, like you’re really happy and excited.”

Clara Preschool Yelling

She’s going back to the same preschool she went to last year, though now for three mornings a week instead of two like last year. She’s excited to be back with her friends, to get to know her new teachers, and to uncover all that there is to explore in her new classroom. And I’d be lying if I didn’t say we’re excited to have a couple hours of quiet time/project time/typing time at home. Although our new house is about 15 minutes further away from school now, so we’re definitely noticing the extra hour that it takes to do two round-trips.

Clara Preschool Smiling

Totally worth it though. The girl loves her school and is so excited to be reunited with all of her friends.

Not sure where this catalog model came from all of the sudden. Someone’s giving us a little strut and pose action.

Clara Preschool Model Pose

She eventually realized that all of these photos were the only thing that stood between herself and her friends at school, so this is her “can we go now?” face.

Clara Preschool Grumpy

So off we went. Oh, and Sherry found her school bag at an Old Navy outlet for $2. She wrote Clara’s name on it with a red sharpie since the school asks for everything to be labeled. How did the whole first day of school thing go for the rest of you guys?

Comments

  3. Michelle Kersey says

    Oh my word!!! She has GROWN!!! I mean. Whoa!! Beautiful girl!!
    Do you all take her together? Might be more efficient if one starts working on comments/posts and such and the other drops her off to school?
    Hope she has a great year!!

    My son started Kindergarten this year… can’t believe it! He’s been back in school for a month now and loves it so much!! Which makes me so happy. His teacher has an open door policy, which I LOVE because I can go by there and have lunch with him or come help in the class.

    Reply

    • Young House Life says

      We both took her together for her first day, but most days just one of us goes to get her (unless we have a showhouse meeting after it or something).

      xo
      s

    • Sara says

      What a cutie :) Do you drive without John in the car, Sherry? Thought I remembered you posting that you rarely drive. Dunno how you live in the suburbs without driving lady!!

    • Young House Life says

      Oh yes, occasionally I do (sometimes with John there like if he’s tired on a road trip and wants to switch) and occasionally I’ll run out on my own to grab something or do a quick errand. I’m getting better at it – slowly. Haha!

      xo
      s

    • KathyG says

      Some people just don’t like to drive – I’m one of them. I can, and I do, but if I don’t have to, or can talk someone else into it, that’s what I’m going to do. LOL
      And what a big change from year to year! wow.

  5. Hayley says

    My almost 3 year old keeps telling, me, “Mama, I not gonna get big. I gonna stay wittle and wive with you.” I’m sure when he’s 19 and eating all my food (like mentioned above) I’ll be singing a different tune, but right now, that is just fine with me! :)

    Reply

  6. pattilouwho says

    I have been taking the same photos on the first day of school and the last day of school since both girls were in preschool. I love the comparison to see year by year how much they grow and also just within the school year how much they change. It’s a fun tradition! She’s adorable, by the way! :)

    Reply

  7. Teri Pickens says

    I no longer have children at home but for the most part it was a success for all 11 of my grandchildren. Clara’s pictures were so adorable. Isn’t it amazing how much children grow in a year?

    Reply

  8. Jo says

    I’m sure you’re with her the entire time now during drop-off and pick-up and such, but a word of caution on putting her name on the outside of her backpacks and stuff as she grows older and might be walking to or from school/bus stop/whatever. It’s much easier for a little kid to think a stranger knows her or her parents and can be trusted when the stranger can call her by her first name, something he can pick out from her backpack if it’s written in plain sight. Even if you’re with her the whole time for school stuff, if a stranger watches her and learns her name from that, he can still use it to lure her in later on at parks, grocery stores, etc.

    Writing underneath a handle or on the inside can fit the school requirements and still keep kids safe. I don’t want to make you paranoid or anything! Kid safety is just very close to my heart. What is it John calls himself? Safety something, right?

    Reply

    • Young House Life says

      Oh yes, I have heard that tip and I’m Princess Paranoid! She only wears her bag into and out of school and we walk her to her class and pick her up right at the door – so she’s not around town with anything that has her name on it for a stranger to swoop in.

      xo
      s

    • Kellee says

      My parents were also super paranoid when we were growing up, as am I with my daughter. As kids (and we plan on doing this when our kids are older) we had a password. If someone told us that it was an emergency or seemed to know who we were, we had to ask them the password. If they didn’t know, then we had to contact an adult we trusted.

  11. Megan says

    Oh my gosh! She is so tall in comparison! I love that you have the old yellow door and now the new blue door. To keep it going, now you just get to paint your door a different color every year until she graduates ;)

    Reply

  13. Alisa D. says

    Aw, so sweet! Clara is such a cutie. It’s so much fun to watch her grow on the blog. You two are clearly doing a great job of raising a happy girl with a big personality!

    Reply

  14. Susan says

    When I write names on things in Sharpie it looks like someone wrote on the item with a marker. When you do, it looks like you purchased a customized bag!? Mad handwriting skillz.

    She’s adorable! Here’s to a great year of preschool.

    Reply

    • Young House Life says

      Haha, you’re sweet! It’s not perfect up close, but it works. My secret is to write it with a thin line and then go over it a few times to chunk it up and sort of smooth things out.

      xo
      s

  15. Ashley says

    Such a sweet tradition. My Mom took one of me every first day of school while I was at home, and I’ve kept it going because I know how much it means to her. Just a month ago she got one from my first day of my third year of veterinary school. Woohoo 19th grade!

    Reply

  16. Kylie Meller says

    Monkey’s Undies!

    That is the trick to get kids to smile in a picture without the silly grins or grimace! Works a treat every time!

    PS I am not saying you need a money to show his undies for this to work, just get them to say the words!

    Reply

  17. Ali says

    Oh wow, big difference! I was there yesterday with my little guy and saw the class that my son Dean was in last year – I couldn’t believe how little the kids looked!

    Yay for a new year! Lisa told me that Sophie was so happy to be in the same class with Clara. :)

    Reply

    • Young House Life says

      Isn’t it crazy how small the kids in their old classroom look?! And Clara’s so excited about Sophie being in her class. It’s adorable.

      xo
      s

  21. Vicki says

    Such a doll and what an amazing growth spurt! I love the blue door. I want to paint mine purple but my sweetie disagrees so it is still a boring beige.

    Reply

  23. Lisa Sylvia says

    What a great job on the canopy, it’s so cute. Clara is a darling. WOW what a difference a year makes. She looked so tiny. So glad to hear she loves school, that’s a plus.

    Reply

  24. Henna @ HENNA BLOSSOM says

    Oh this is just the sweetest. WHAT a difference one year makes! And can I just say, I kinda want you to paint your door a different color every year…you know, for the photo. ha. :)

    We just had our first day of (pre) preschool. It’s been quite a difficult transition for our little guy sadly…but I know he’ll love it. He was a cutie though and posed for a photo. You gotta see: http://hennablossom.com/?p=4944

    It’s going to be so fun to look through these over the years. Oh kids… :)

    Reply

  26. Amy says

    I compared photos of my daughter’s first day last year & this year in preschool as well and couldn’t believe the difference! I think she & Clara are around the same age. It is funny to think of how little they looked last year, because I didn’t think she was so tiny when I snapped the photo! Preschool is the greatest thing ever… they love it because they don’t have homework yet and I love the free time I get while she’s gone. :)

    Reply

  27. Annacat says

    So cute! She certainly looks excited! :) My little girl is in Grade One! And this momma was so excited, we ended up with a fourth day of school photo. Ah well.

    Looks like you have a little model on your hands!

    Reply

  28. ErinY says

    She’s so sweet! What does she carry in her bag? I haven’t been around a preschool since I was in it myself, so I have no clue what those kids need these days!

    Reply

    • Young House Life says

      She has a folder for art & print outs from the teacher that come home with her as well as a lunchbox with her snack in it and a change of clothes (in case of a playground mud-fest or paint-explosion…).

      xo
      s

  29. leila says

    The two pictures side-by-side…ohmyheck! She went from baby to full-blown kid. Have a great school year and enjoy those quiet three mornings per week!

    Reply

  30. Holly says

    She is so stinkin’ cute! My twinkies just started second grade. Wait? What? Yep, second grade – like, a REAL grade. Like, they take stupid standardized tests next year. I keep asking them to stop growing and they get mad at me.

    On an unrelated note, this post is not showing up in the regular feed. I had to click on the link at the bottom of “Clara’s Canopy” post (which, by the way, I am TOTALLY doing for my girls’ beds!).

    Reply

  31. mp says

    Too precious!!! Reminds me of my little one going off to preschool in the 80s. Thankfully, her “little boy and girl school” was less than a mile away from my parents’ home, where we lived, so getting there was a breeze.

    Reply

  32. Megan says

    Wow, what a big girl! It’s hard to believe the difference one year makes. I too took pictures of my two girls on the first day of school, one by the banister and one on the front porch. My oldest daughter refused this year – her second year of college. She said, “OK, the first year of college is one thing, but this is ridiculous – I’m done!”
    In other words, enjoy it while you can!!!

    Reply

  33. Gail says

    Clara is so cute, and so is the canopy.
    I hope you prewashed the pom pom trim, also. The pom poms on my curtains shrunk more than the curtains when I washed them the first time. (And I bought them with the pom poms on, and they were not cheap!) If they seem to shrink, stretch them out while they’re still wet.

    Reply

  34. Amy says

    The side-by-side photo is amazing — what a great way idea. Also reminds me that I’ve been reading your blog for more than a year now — I remember last year’s photo! :)

    Reply

    • Young House Life says

      That was just a clearance tote bag from Old Navy and I wrote her name on it with a red sharpie :)

      xo
      s

Stuff We Love

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *