Bonus Baba Day

Bella began kindergarten on Tuesday but had today off so the teachers could do some administrative work. Although our "Baba Days" have now officially ended, I spent one more full day with her today and was eager to hear her first impressions of kindergarten. The school she is attending is 75% Hispanic or Latino, generally lower-income than the average school in the Portland area. Bella's parents want her in a Spanish-immersion school, and I think this one will offer her cultural opportunities that will enrich her understanding of cultural difference.

"So many kids I don't know! I can't even remember their names. A lot of them have hard names, very hard names to remember." But "I love my maestra. She's littler than my mom, I think she's fifteen, I'm not sure. But she's very nice to us, and the way it works is, you get to play a while before breakfast and then it's just work work work till almost night time. We speak español all the time, and there's just one kid who doesn't speak it. I feel sorry for him." 

I suppose it's a good sign that her teacher seems only fifteen, and I think it's great that Bella is looking forward to the work work work she thinks kindergarten is going to be. She has come to me once a week since she was two. Now her school days begin at 8:30 in the morning and last till 4 p.m. Maybe we'll spend a day together on a weekend now and then; I'll attend recitals and special occasions. But it won't be the same as our off-the-clock weekly play-dates have been these three years. Now she enters the era of peer-influence with a bang.

We started our routine with this blip  three and a half years ago. What an astonishment and a wonder these years have been. What's next? Who knows? I am grateful for every day we've spent together. Extra: a little face-painting. Why not?