Goodbye and Thank You

Two years and two months ago, Luke and Jaz readied themselves for their very first day of preschool. At the time, we couldn't believe how quickly our babies had grown into big kids, though looking at the pictures now, I can't believe how little they were.

Getting out of the car on the first day (June 2006)

Walking into the building
(I was 4 months pregnant with Zeb)

The first activity of preschool

The preschool we chose to send the kids to is the lab school for Smith College (where Lena and I met), and is based on the Reggio Emilia philosophy. We are so blessed to have been able to immerse our kids in this art-rich, amazing curriculum. For the first year, I picked the kids up at noon, but since then they've stayed until 3:00 most days (having lunch and a rest in the afternoon). And yesterday was their last day EVER.

The end of school kind of snuck up on us, and we didn't fully realize or accept it until Wednesday (the day before). How would we possibly say good-bye and thank you to the teachers who have been such a integral part of our kids' lives for the past 26 months? We decided to say it with blueberries. The kids helped me make some mini blueberry pound cake loaves on Wednesday night, and on Thursday morning we fancied them up with scraps of fabric and cards.


Jaz carried the loaves to school in a basket (for the past year we've lived just around the corner from school, which has been so lovely. It would be much harder to move next week if the kids were still going to be in school there).

Lukas was too upset about the whole thing to pose for any pictures.

The goodbye was very bittersweet. We all (kids, moms, teachers) got a little teary giving final hugs. As much as I think Jaz and Luke are ready for something new, it is so hard to imagine their preschool and teachers not being a part of our lives anymore.

Next stop, kindergarten.