It’s odd to be on the opposite side of things as Claire now begins kindergarten. We went to meet the teacher two weeks ago, and Claire acted goofy. She hid. She wouldn’t say hello to her classmates who were also there. She sat in her new classroom seat and read a book loudly as if to say “see, I can do this already”.

The first day of school I was blessed to have friends cover my morning classes so I could join Claire and Donna at the elementary school. We were there super early with teacher gifts, kleenex, and cameras in hand. We took photos of Claire on the recess equipment and smiled as her second grade friend ran up to us. We chatted with her teacher and the other kids in the class, too. The first week was all about procedures, rules, and how to pay for lunch. I was eager for her to begin bringing home homework because I knew this was something I was good at doing with her. That week she had no homework.

This week though it was a little different. She had homework every night. For example, one night she had to write the letter “A” over and over again to practice it in some oddly formatted handwriting called dinelian. We also got our first teacher phone class. Claire was being gregarious and was moved to a solitary table where she broke a handle off a materials carousel. We made her write her teacher and apology and take dollar bills our of her piggy bank to pay for her mistake. It’s Friday now and she’s come a long way in just two weeks. Wednesday she was to recite “Mary Had a Little Lamb” which she did by reading the lyrics online on my Droid. I’ve watched her sit down at her desk when she gets home to do homework or read through directions for other worksheets that weren’t assigned. Sure, there’s been consternation on Claire’s part about not coming to high school with me, as she’s done for four years now, but there’s also the excitement of the day to tell Daddy when I pick her up after kids express.