OMG! I gotta buy jeans and gym pants and get school supplies and why do they need 12 different colours of duo-tangs and where do you find a cloth bag and for crying out loud it is impossible to find a decent pair of sneakers and they want them to have...
STOP! Never fear - this week we'll devote most of our time to getting ready, OK? We are in this together!
First things first: let's get some routines established, K?
Routines, routines....now, nothing too drastic - I'll be happy if I accomplish this over the course of the week:
- Reel-in the bedtimes by 15-20 min each night til they are back to normal and get the kids up earlier in the mornings (7 AM by Friday)
- Start getting showers as part of the bedtime routine again (instead of whenever)
- Get the book-bags packed with all those goodies the teachers mentioned in the note that came with report cards (I have it all right? Better check that too ;-).
- Make sure the homwork desk is cleared of the
junk...ummmm...stuff... that has accumulated over the summer and get it all set-up for a new school year (neat, with sharpened pencils, lamp, calendar and/or bulletin board nearby) - Check bus schedules for first day on ESDNL website; contact school if any questions
In fact, this year I even came up with an elaborate scheme for a BREAKFAST Back-To-School Party:
Yep, you read that right: at 8:00AM some day before classes, I was planning on having 10-15 hyped-up neighbourhood kids show up in their p.j.'s, feed them sugar and syrup, then get them even more excited by playing games and encouraging shouting and laughter, then send them home with - woo-hoo- pencils and erasers!!!!
It is interesting to note that we will not be doing this - I came to my senses, but I wanted to share the outline just in case you are crazier than I ;-) If so, I'd LOVE to see photos!
So what ARE we doing to get into the school spirit? Well....
- The final back-to-school shopping: mainly to let them pick out their pencil case and lunch box
- Treats daily - last night, it was ice cream at DQ, tonight I have fancy pencils for each of them... also in the case: novelty erasers, Disney themed rulers, Star Wars pocket portfolio covers, etc. - anything small that can somehow seem school-related is all game ;-) These are going to be set next to their setting at the supper table
- Oh yeah - we'll start eating supper at a reasonable hour again (not at 8:30-9 ;-)
- We don't do allowances in the summer - they'll start again this weekend - see, kids, there is something to look forward to!
- Meet-ups at the park with a couple of friends from the boys' classes to to reconnect after a summer spent mainly apart.
- On the last day before school we'll run through the entire AM routine (rise, wash, dress, eat, brush, out the door and on the bus stop!) and then celebrate our success at a special eat-out lunch!
- On the Happy Back to School Day, we'll finish supper off with a Happy Back to School Cake, and get the imps to blow out candles for their grades. These end up being some of my favourite photos!
9 more sleeps!
Love your post. To know that someone else is going through the aches and pains of returning to school is comforting! To add to your lunch problem, I have come up with a solution for my son who is not fussy on sandwiches - kid sushi!!! You take the 2 pieces of bread that they hate eating in a sandwich and roll it thin with a rolling pin. Then spread with mayo, jam, whatever your child likes (it's like the glue to keep everything together) and put cut-up filling along one side of the smooshed bread slice like ham, cheese, egg, slivered carrots. The filling choice is the part that the kids can get involved in. Roll the filling in the bread and cut like suishi in about 1" pieces. My kids love the change but you are still using the same ingredients as you would for sandwiches!
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