I love it when September rolls around. The kids go back to school and routine returns. My living room stays clean longer than 5 minutes. I love the smell of newly sharpened pencils, notebook paper and new crayons.
I am not a big fan of Meet the Teacher night. It's not that I don't want to meet the teachers who will have my children for most of the day, 5 days a week. I just don't know what to say.
"Hello, Mr. Blah-Blah-Blah...I'm TulipMom. This is my 5th grader, BB. What would you like to know? He's smart, clever, funny...He has ADHD and and IEP. He's going to challenge you for the first few weeks and make you want to rip your hair out but stay strong, stick to a routine, be firm and we will both be fine. I'm rootin' for ya...I'm sure we will be in touch soon."
"Ahhh, Mrs. So-and-S0...this is my 3rd grader, PH. He's a sweet boy. He had a rough year last year but he is over it now. He loves sports and his friends and anything Lego or Star Wars. He really is a good boy."
"Nice to meet you, Mr. First-Grade-Teacher. This is Peanut. He's a fun one. He likes to chat. In fact, he is very seldom quiet. He is funny and cute and he's my baby. But don't treat him like that. I want him to get out of acting like it. Ummm, well, I'm not real sure how things are going to go. He has a hard time sitting still. He does not always do what he is told or like to listen. But I'm sure it is going to be a great year. Really. I'm almost positive."
And for my daughter...same speech...multiple times.
"I'm Princess's Mom. She's a sweet girl. She's very quiet and needs a lot of encouragement to speak up but when she does, she has good things to say. You will enjoy her."
The other thing I love about a new school year is feeling like I get a fresh start. It's like an annual Do-over. I take some time to think about what worked last year and what did not.
These are the changes I am making this year: (It's only been two days, but so far, so good)
*Family breakfast at 7am. This ensures that everyone has eaten and is awake. I also get the chance to see everyone before I head off to work.
*The kids are making their own lunches. I grumbled so often last year about making lunches every morning. The kids grumbled about what I put in there. So, now, they know exactly what they are getting and it seems to have more value since they did the work.
*Once homework starts coming in, I want to discuss with each of them how they like to do their homework best. I sort of know already that my oldest boys do better if they can lounge on the couch. Princess does better with peace and quiet.
*Family meal planning and a posted menu. This has rejuvenated meals for me and brought back some creativity where I had grown stagnant. I was also tired of the complaints. Now the kids can look at the week and know that even if they don't like tonight's dinner, they may like tomorrow. And we gave each night a fun name: Sloppy Saturday, Special Sunday, Macaroni Monday, Taco Tuesday, Whatever Wednesday, Take It Out Thursday and Fun Friday. I have told the kids that these titles are loosely defined so that we can experiment with different things that fit the categories. Taco Tuesday could be tacos, could be gyros or enchilada's or super nachos. Whatever Wednesdays is my freebie night. Most of the year, we go to church supper and then clubs but other times we have Wednesday off, I can put "whatever" I want in that spot.
I think I have other things I am changing too but this is all I can think of at the moment. So far, these changes are good and well received. I particularly like having breakfast in the morning with my kids and starting off the day together.
I love my Do-Over/Fresh Start Fall.
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