The Kissing Hand

For the first day, as a family, we walked Isabel up to Culbertson. The school was bustling with activity. The school looked picture perfect with freshly groomed flower beds and mulch, blue and silver star balloons blowing in the wind, and teachers and administrators welcoming new and old students to Culbertson with smiles on their faces! Isabel was happy to see many old friends at her new school including Catherine Curley, Grayce King, and Wyatt Johnson from Pre-K, Natalie Maye and Grace Goldbeck also from Nursery School, and Ella D'Allesandro from St. Annie's. Her teacher, Mrs. Lebo, was waiting for her students in the doorway and greeted Isabel with a warm hug!

I was hoping to pick Isabel up from school at the close of the day, but she was adamant that she wanted to ride the school bus home. Reluctantly, I agreed to meet her at the bus stop. At 3:36 the school bus stopped at Horton and Tyson, but Isabel never made it off the bus. With panic in my voice, I was able to get the bus drivers attention and question him to the whereabouts of my daughter. After calling her name several times Isabel came bouncing down the aisle with a smile on her face. I asked her why she didn't get off the bus, and she matter of factly answered, she didn't know it was her bus stop! I couldn't argue with that, how would she know??

Then came the big question, "How was your first day?" Her reply, "awesome!" Probing further, I asked, "What did you do today?" She told me, Mrs. Lebo, read the Kissing Hand. She then grabbed my hand, kissed my palm, gently closed-up each finger, and put my hand to my cheek. It was very sweet and made my heart flutter!

I couldn't have asked for a better start to the school year!

Isabel survived her first day at Culbertson in first grade. We

Big changes in the Smith House - Isabel moves to Culbertson!

Well, after much indecision, Andy and I finally decided to move Isabel to Culbertson Elementary for 1st grade. We loved St. Annie's, but felt deeply that Isabel's needs would be better served in the public school. To prepare for the change, Isabel got a lot of new back to school clothes, which she loved! Her favorite fashion piece was the "jeggings" a legging/jean combo. Surprisingly, while she is definitely nervous about a new school, she is also looking forward to some things like a big playground and wearing her own clothes! We visited Culbertson a few days before school and found out that she already knew 4 other kids in her class - 3 from Pre-K and one from St. Annie's. This eased her nerves big time. The Culbertson community has quickly embraced our family. We went to a Back to School barbecue at St. Alban's for Labor Day and met lots of new families. To date the change has been easier than I expected, but I think I'll wait on a verdict until the first day of school!