The effortless brush strokes filling the skies at sunrise. The comforting sensation of the first sip of coffee as it travels the well worn path across your taste buds. The rush of air filling your lungs as you breath in a new experience. The flutter within your chest as you enter an unfamiliar place filled with unfamiliar faces, or maybe that's just the coffee. The melting pot of emotions flooding your body as you take on a new challenge: excitement, fear, joy, anticipation, more excitement.
These are all things that can be associated with new beginnings, something we experience on a daily basis in a thousand different ways. As we wrap up the first few weeks of the school year, I am compelled to reflect on this concept as an educator, a parent, and from the perspective of a small child.
As an early childhood educator the first day of school is a new beginning. A newly redesigned space to share with our little friends. New materials to present to open minds. New relationships to forge with children, parents, grandparents. New hands to hold as they familiarize themselves with our space. New tears to wipe and new arms to hug. New shoes to put on and help tie (and yes I noticed that those new sparkle ones do, in fact, make you run faster).
As a parent the first day of school is a new chapter in life. A reminder that our little ones will not always be so little. A heart breaking realization that time can never stand still. We are beyond thrilled to see our babies thrive as young toddlers and preschoolers. We are saddened to accept that someone else will be comforting them when they are sad, cleaning boo boos, tucking them in with their lovey at nap time. For parents, this new chapter gives us the opportunity to see the beautiful journey our children begin apart from us. The journey that will eventually lead them into adulthood.
Above all of these different perspectives is that of the small child. The courage, resiliency, and adaptability of young children never ceases to amaze me. The first day of school is an incredible sensory experience for our little ones. The sounds, smells, and textures of a seemingly endless amount of new materials, people, spaces to interact with. The bustle of a classroom full of peers who are all sharing your journey in the same but very different way. In the mind of a child the first day of school isn't one new beginning, it is a hundred different new beginnings all day long with each transition throughout the day. A new place to sit for meal times, a new nap routine that cannot compare to the comforts of home, a new place to go potty, the realization that Mommy and Daddy have to leave and it takes so long for them to come back.
The children I have the pleasure to work with each year are beyond amazing. They are strong and brave and patient and kind. They are absorbing new experiences and learning from every exchange. They are open and honest and curious about all of these new things. New beginnings offer incredible opportunities. And through the eyes of a child they are breathtakingly beautiful.
