I have mixed emotions about the start of school. School is not an easy time for parents. In
fact, it can be a particularly challenging time for working parents. I am feeling overwhelmed, and the younger
kids (Brandon and Mia) have only been in school for one week. Homework hasn’t even begun yet. We, as a family, are stretched to our limits.
Our day usually starts with us leaving
the house at 7 a.m. and not returning home until 7 p.m.
There is either softball, gymnastics, or flag football practice in the
early evenings. Somehow, we have to
manage to fit in homework, dinner, and showers.
Needless to say, our house may not be as sparkly clean as it could be
during the week. I may be slightly
complaining, but I do recognize this as all my own doing. I don’t think I would change it though. I am an energizer bunny. I want to be busy. I want the kids to be
busy.
Brandon is now entering the 3rd grade. He is simply brilliant. We were counting coins the other day to wrap in those wrappers, and I was “incorrectly” counting. He had to correct me. This is the second time I have been corrected by my eight-year old son. Mia is now in the 1st grade. Their classrooms are directly across from each other. Frankly, when a child starts school then so does the parent. You are doing homework, projects with your child etc. Yes, my evenings will soon be full of daily homework (after all the activities are done and dinner/showers are completed).
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| Mia putting up her backpack outside her classroom |
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| Brandon at his desk |
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| Mia at her desk |
I am most excited for Dylan as he begins his freshman year at high school. Sometime in his 8th grade year, he developed a very conscientious attitude towards his academics. He started a week before Brandon and Mia. I see him completing his assignments daily without any prompts from me. Last year at a counseling appointment for Dylan, the school mentioned that they had never known a kid to care so much about his grades. As soon as something was completed, he would be very eager to know the test/assignment results. After further discussion, they realized this came from me. In fact, they were a little displeased with my obsession with grades and test scores. I was told I was giving him unnecessary anxiety.
Dylan will be reading Homer’s The Odyssey and Harper Lee’s
To Killing a Mockingbird this year(two books I have already read). I have decided that I am going to reread them
when they are assigned so I can tutor Dylan.
One thing I have remembered about myself….something I have put aside for
several years….my passion for literature.
I have been waiting for the time to come when the kids would be reading classic
literature so that I can engage them in a wonderful discussion! That time is NOW!! YAY!
What do I expect from the kids this year? I just simply want
them to do the best they can…to put 100 percent effort in their studying and
learning.
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