A couple of minutes after she left, I went outside to the sidewalk to keep an eye on her. She must have sensed my presence, even though she was more than a block away, because she turned around and waved. She turned around again less than 30 seconds later to shoo me away.

So I hid behind our holly tree and spied on her. And made sure she made it to the stop safe and sound. You can bet I’ll be spying at least for the rest of the week. The bus stop is on our street, three short blocks away – it can’t be more than 1/4 mile from the house, if that much. So far, however, she’s the only kid walking to the stop by herself. And there are lots of kids there. Even the 4th graders are still accompanied by a parent.

A recent article in the NY Times discussed parents’ reluctance to let their children walk to school or to the bus stop by themselves. And I was talking to a friend today about this very issue. In my mind, there’s something magical about a kid gaining independence, whether it be in learning how to ride a bike or walking to the bus stop alone. And if you don’t allow children to grow in that way, you end up raising a kid who is stifled, sheltered, inexperienced and scared – not to mention at risk for rebellion later on.

Chloe was proud as can be that she’s able to walk herself to the bus. And we’re proud of her.

Chloe had me swing her on the tire swing at one of the playgrounds, but I apparently didn’t do it properly. She was nauseous for about 1/2 hour afterwards.

After a quick picnic, we continued with our explorations. Ended up at the small lake where the remote-controlled boat aficionados show of their skills. Chloe discovered the joys of cracking open acorns with a rock; Sophie discovered that she could scare pigeons by throwing acorns at them. I’m telling you, between her desire to step on ants, and her newfound talent for using birds as moving acorn targets, we may have a future psychopath on our hands.

Our little one really liked that some of her belly showed. She thought that was quite cool. I thought it was borderline indecent. But that’s just because I’m getting old. What was potentially truly indecent was the halter top – because until we tied it just right, Sophie had a little too much booby action going on. Not that she particularly minded that, either.

Her teacher at pre-K told me today that she’s very quiet and shy in class. It’s only been a couple of days, so I’m not very concerned. Let’s face it, she’s been like that in group settings since she was an infant. She likes to observe. Except when she’s at home or with her family or friends – when she’s a clown. But in school or in an enrichment class, Sophie’s a different child. I’m interested to see what will happen with her as the year progresses, especially since she’s now in class full-time. I mean, this is a kid who dances, sings and runs around the house naked in pure joy. I hope that some of that carefree, happy-go-lucky attitude (without the naked) carries over into school.

Sophie, the proud “senior” at her pre-K.

Chloe, the jaded 3rd grader who didn’t want me to take her photo because it wasn’t cool.

Both girls had good first days. Sophie saw lots of familiar faces from last year. Chloe is in a class with lots of kids she’s never seen before. And to top it all off, she’s in a new school!

Chloe’s impressed with her homeroom teacher, who is “really young.” Sophie still doesn’t know the names of her teachers. Chloe played soccer at recess today. Sophie has naptime. Chloe is going to have lots of homework everyday. Sophie will have coloring. Chloe can’t wait to walk to the bus stop by herself. Sophie would like nothing more than for us to take her to school every single day.

For us, the beginning of the year isn’t January 1st. The beginning of the year is the first day of school because that’s when we realize how quickly the girls are growing up.