Lisa, I can’t say anything to help you out but I wanted to let you know that I, too, am the Mom who is miserable & crying when my oldest is gone. He just started at the public high school last year in 10th grade...I homeschooled him through 9th grade & last year was VERY hard. If it were not for his amazing guidance counselor (who helped ME more than him!), I know I would not have survived. lol That said, I still have 3 at home, one of whom is a toddler, and the other 2 are homeschooled...we try to keep bedtimes pretty steady all year long and my boys are all early risers (as is the baby girl now...thanks, Guys!) so, for us, it’s just a matter of sitting at the dining room table vs. heading out to the playground or to a playdate or Summer Rec, etc. After a summer full of out of town company, I am really looking fwd to the schedule of school...right now, that is. lol God bless!!!
Easing into Reality
Posted by Lisa Hendey in Family on Tuesday, August 12, 2008 1:53 AM
Having returned home from our “last hurrah” camping trip, I confronted the disquieting fact that for one of my kids school starts in six days. I’m not one of those moms who parties on the first day of school at the thought of freedom and a return to scheduled life. Rather, I’m the mom who sits in the parking lot crying and missing my kids until I arrive early to pick them up and whisk them back home. Now that they are teens, it’s gotten even more difficult to face the start of the school year in many ways. We Hendeys love our summers - the unscheduled bliss of late nights in the music room, sleeping in, and the free feeling of less planned activity.
When my kids were a bit younger, we would begin the process of acclimating schedules several weeks in advance of the school year starting, with a gradual return to reasonable bed times and earlier rising. Now that my kids stay up later than I do many nights, it’s tempting to let them eek out every last bit of summer’s blessed and leisurely pace. Thus, my question for you - regardless of the age of your kiddos, what strategies do you use (mentally and physically) to begin preparations for “Back to School”? If you homeschool, do you begin a shifting to anticipate your more structured school days. If you have little ones, how do you handle preparations for the re-commencement of the rat race?
I’d love to hear your strategies and coping techniques for making Back to School less painful and more joyful. I’ve been doing this for twelve years, and I still struggle with it every year! Your tips and tricks are sorely needed and greatly appreciated!
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Comments
Mary, thanks for sharing your story! This is the time of year, every year, that I contemplate a jump to homeschooling!! Adam will be an eighth grader this year, so it’s really more of a thought of “what might have been” had we chosen another route. Funny that my boys used to be early risers, but now as teens I have to drag them out of bed!
No advice here except to say that September is my favorite month of the year. The weather, the clothes, the shoes, the excitement of school with new teachers, new friends, new year - everything is an open book. I thrive on schedules and quiet time during the day, it’s the summer that I have difficulty with.
What can I say, I love schedules, and my son starting school always makes it easier for me to get back on track. The fact that I am a single mom that works full time might have something to do with it, but actually I get excited for him when he goes to school and look forward to him learning and growing. Maybe I need my head checked. But I really am looking forward to seeing God’s plan materialize in his life. I remember the first day in kinder, I was so happy for him.
Michelle and Jennifer,
Your helpful and positive attitudes are precisely what I’m needing this week. You’re very right that it’s exciting to see our kids blossom and grow with every new adventure! Michelle, I think most moms are more like you and Jennifer - welcoming the return to scheduling and more time - than like me! Thanks, y’all, for helping me adjust my attitude!
L.
I sat down today and made out our “schedule” for homeschooling which starts on the 25th. As it is my first year homeschooling all the academic subjects (every mom homeschools - some just do more than others!), I’m both scared and excited. I’m sure that your boys will have a wonderful year, Lisa! And you’ll be settled back into the old routine before you know it! Best wishes!
We own our own business and have a pretty flexible schedule. As our children frequently have rather late nights, I am glas the our schooling choice has been to home school our younger children. I don’t worry about a schedule except for outside activities, and I get to be with my children! My oldest 2 did go off to school, and I remember missing them terribly! Enjoy your last 6 days of time with your children home!
Lisa, I work full time, however, I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE summer. I love the more relaxed schedule in the a.m. (merely getting the kids to camp), no-stress bedtimes and NO homework or sport practices and games. It is great downtime. That said, like Michelle, I work full time and our family seems to operate better overall on schedules. So, the first two weeks are generally hectic getting back into our groove, but it makes summer that much more enjoyable! This year marks the one and only year all my precious babies are in the same school (K, 1, 3, 5) and I will alternate between tears and whoops of joy on that first day.....
I love the routine! Summer is fun but we’re all pretty weary right now as it has been an extra-busy one. Going back to school will be a relief--even with homework!
Just today we paid a visit to our local nursing home to see Katherine. She’s 96 and has no family living. We talked about the first day of school and asked her if she could she remember her early school years. It was such a great conversation---wish you could have seen her eyes sparkle. We talked of freshly sharpened pencils--oh how they smell so good; new books in which you got to be the first one to write your name(!); the Palmer Handwriting Method--(anyone else have their grandparents books? THAT is a lost art for sure!); walking a mile to school with your brothers, carrying your lunch.
I do love the beginning of a new school year---so many possibilities await.
(Since I mentioned Katherine, can I ask you all to say a little prayer for her? She doesn’t have much longer here and has not had living family in many, many years yet she is the most positive, gracious, cheerful woman I’ve ever met! My 8-y-o asked me why I thought God has let her live so long when all her family is gone. That was easy to answer---He has let her live for US to meet her and see Him every time we see her! God Bless Katherine!)
Beth,
Katherine is blessed to have your family in her life, just as you are blessed by your friendship with her! I will keep this precious soul in my prayers!
Lisa
For many years, we eased the “shock” of back-to-school with a September camp-out. (Lisa, I hear you’ve got a trailer?!) Well, even if we had to bring along a little homework, we bugged out at 3pm on a Friday and made it home by Sunday night...and, best of all, the state parks we camped in were much quieter and less crowded!
Pat,
I love that camping idea!! We had a great idea on our recent trip. My husband also informed me that our trailer is 23 feet, not the 28 feet I thought it was and that it’s a 1993, not a 1999!! No wonder we felt so crowded! Adds to the feeling of togetherness, I guess!
Lisa
That feeling of “losing” my kids to school at the end of summer is one of the things that lead me to homeschool! Whether in public school or home school, we have always ended the summer with a ritual closet cleaning and house tidy in order to make room for new school stuff. Little by little we call them in earlier and wake them earlier in the morning. This way the first day of school is not such a shock to their systems!
Michelle,
I love the idea of a ritual closet cleaning - we normally do that at the beginning of the summer, but it actually really makes a lot of sense to do it again now to make way for new uniforms/school clothes. I also need to clean out my school supply area in my laundry room and replenish that too. Thanks for the reminder! Lisa
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