Monday, September 1, 2008

Back to school time!

Happy Labor Day!  Thank you for all of you who work the daily grind (even today as many of us were out dining and shopping). 

I realize for much of the country, you have probably already gone back to school.  My husband finished out his first full week  of teaching rather happily.  Thanks to the great sales as of late, school shopping is finally finished for the whole family.  Tomorrow holds the real "back to school" feel in our home; because, you see, tomorrow is the first day of pre-school!

I am not finding it as bitter-sweet as I thought I would.  I am actually glad for this new adventure in our lives.  My three-year-old has been asking to go to school on an almost daily basis for about a month now.  We have watched DVD's about favorite characters (Elmo and Blue) going to school.  It is an exciting time.  All that said, I have put a lot of planning into tomorrow.  The homework assignment "All About Me..." poster is finally complete and in the packed up back pack (lest we forget this very important item!).  The lunch is all packed (except the hot portion).  Everything is Magic Marker labeled.  The clothes are laid out - down to the shoes.  I feel as though I have planned well.

So I ask those of you who are parents, for your first day agendas.  What do you do on that first day with a silent house, you stay at home mom?  What do you do the first day coordinating buses, car-pools, after school schedules?  Working parent, what is your challenge with after school care?

I find myself curious about others' lives at this point.  What are your "back to school" rituals?  I have a dear friend whose husband goes into work late on the first day of school.  He stays home a little longer and cooks a big breakfast for the whole family.  I plan to try to maintain a "life as normal" status quo in the morning so as not to upset the applecart that is my young one.  Yes, Elli, I will TRY TRY TRY to remember to take a picture of him in the morning.  So tell me, what do you do that is different/special for that very first day?  How do you plan?  If you are beyond the point of having school aged children, what did you do for your children when they were small that was special?  What is YOUR best first day of school memory?

For any of you who are interested, there is still space available in the up coming Home Hub Seminar for Monday evening (Sept 15, 5:30-7pm).

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7 comments:

Your Organizing Guru said...

Minnesota, Montana. Tomato, Tomatoe.

??? :)

Unknown said...

LOL! I'm sure some Minnesotans would disagree!

But as for your questions...

We try to keep life "business as usual" even through the summer so it's not so hard to go back to school. But even with that plan, we always start back on a strict school-time curfew the week before school and practice every night and morning. Picking clothes, getting up on time, being ready 15 minutes early...

Now...I do believe I still have some lunches to take care of...

Oh - check out my latest post, if you haven't! :-)

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...

(shameless self-promotion)

What's Up in Scrivnerburg

Unknown said...

Oh...and one more comment - my plan for when the kids are all in school...

I plan to clean something, then sit and watch it stay clean for an hour.

Marie said...

We started school 2 weeks ago for my 2nd grader and one week ago for our preschooler. Our preparation comes about two weeks before. We slowly inch bedtime back about 30-60 minutes (we try during the summer, but it moves forward magically somehow!). We also end up buying a few new school clothes and some school supplies. The schools here in Utah provide 90-100% of the kids' school supplies, so we buy stuff to make homework easier (like actually having a pencil, let a lone one with an eraser) and stuff to donate to the classes. THe actual first day is kind of unremarkable. My husband usually hangs around to see the boys leave and then head to work. I try to remember pictures.... this year, we did it the 4th day of my preschooler's school for both boys... good enough, right? LOL! That is about it! I just enjoy cleaning something or running errands with only one little person under foot... but no nap or mani/pedi or anything really exciting! LOL! And while our current "baby" will start pre-school this March, I foolish decided to have one more kiddo- due any day now... so I still have 3-5 years before I will be truly "home alone".

Your Organizing Guru said...

Marie,
Congrats on your new littlest bundle. I know that the alone time is not going to hardly be worth the time you get to spend being a mom to a baby for just a few more years. I know with my little guy, it certainly does go back quickly!
~J