What? It may be summer but I don’t let my kids slack off from their studies. No I don’t.
I am enjoying my summer with my children. Thanks for asking. The weather has been beautiful-lots of sun along with occasional soothing rain showers. We have played, relaxed and enjoyed our time off for weeks now. It has been fantastic.
I got on Facebook to see what was going on in everyone else’s summer. Ahhh so and so is on a cruise. That must be fun. So and so is at the beach with their family. That sounds heavenly. So and so is playing out in the backyard, eating popsicles. That is what summer is all about; not having a care in the world.
Then I scroll down a little further and what do I see? Yes, you Ma’am. You know who you are. Just what are YOU doing today? You are out on the town buying…..school supplies??? It was like someone dumped a glass of cold water on me. What was this dose of reality that you are posting about on my beloved social media outlet? I scroll further down the list and there was another mother buying school supplies. What is going on?
I am now officially behind. I like to get things done and out of the way,too. Now I feel the pressure. Must.Go.Buy.Supplies. And just like that, my carefree summer is over. Now it is the downhill slide to the first day of school. Well it’s been real, folks.
All I can think about is who needs new shoes, needs new jeans and who’s disgusting backpack simply cannot make it another year. With four kids it pretty much takes an Excel spreadsheet to keep it all straight. Don’t think I haven’t, because I have.
Before long, gone will be the carefree evenings without extracurricular activities. Homework will be squeezed in between supper, baths and bedtime. There will be reading, math facts and sight words. There will be spelling tests and math tests. I will be stressing out WAY more than any of the kids.
School is such a different animal than when I was a child. I am here to tell you that my mother never had to help me study or do homework. I am not blaming anyone. All of us parents do it to ourselves because we want so much for our children. We want the absolute best for them. And then some.
I have reached a decision. I am taking my summer back. I am not going to worry about getting everything done before school starts. I am going to enjoy these last precious weeks of summer with my kids. There will never be another summer when they are these ages. As much as they fuss and fight these are still the days that I will look back on one day with such warmness. I refuse to think about anything past today.
THE END. No really. I mean it.
Okay. Anyone who knows me knows that was a total lie. I do not understand the meaning of relax and let it go SO instead here is a list of things that you had better be taking care of. Like yesterday. Seriously.
1. If you have a preschooler please tell me that you have secured your spot. THE HORROR if you haven’t. You child will never graduate college without preschool.
2. You must purchase 147 Ticonderoga pencils PER child. Not 146 and certainly not 148. Also 29 glue sticks, 19 boxes of crayons, 8 pairs of scissors (huh? I’ve had the same pair of scissors for 10 years). If you have not already printed your child’s school supply list for MERCY’S SAKE stop reading this and get do it.
3. Go to your local big box store and start stocking up on snacks. You will need to designate a special place in your pantry for your selections. A child with no snack = a horrible mother.
4. Each child will need to be measured for the dreaded summer growth spurt. At least one and probably all of your kids have grown JUST enough that their school clothes will no longer fit. This weekend you should start shopping for some nice, new, crunchy, super uncomfy jeans that scream MY MAMA BOUGHT THESE YESTERDAY. I will give them 4 weeks max before they have a hole in the knees. But that is not important.
5. The first day of school your kid must have a brand new pair of kicks. You know, the shoes that they will wear day in/day out until they have holes in the soles and the material. If you have boys then that should be about three months from now. They will either have another growth spurt or they will rip the entire toe out of one of them doing, whatever it is boys do.
6. Start shopping for winter coats. The best time to buy a coat (when you can find them) is when it is not cold. Duh! You know you are going to reach into that closet all too soon and realize that last years coat is both too small and weird smelling.
7. Sign your kid up for every fall extracurricular activity that you can squeeze in. Then add two more. Who needs free time? You should be able to rattle off a list of everything little Jr. has on his plate. I know he is only 6. Just trust me.
8. Odds are if you look inside last year’s backpack it will have a container of forgotten food. It is probably well on its way to being able to crawl out of there on its own. You knew the backpack was threadbare and stained. I know you tried to get another year out of it. Now toss it and go find a new one.
9. For goodness sake please make sure that you have secured the 20 forms necessary for your child to return to school. You should have folders, color coded for each child and simply pass the folder to the appropriate school personnel on the first day. Do you want to stay up until 2 AM filling out forms?
10. Last but not least start working with little sweetie on those summer workbooks that you bought last March swearing that THIS year would be different. With only three weeks left you will have to do multiple lessons a day to catch up. Don’t be that parent whose kid forgot everything they learned last year. Again.
As I read this list to my mother, she just laughed and laughed. How did I ever manage to make it to adulthood with that non-checklist making woman raising me 😉
Enjoy your summer! It is NOT over!! (After you complete this list of course).
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same here. my boy is going to start kinder this year. i’m so nervous! and the shoe thing? oh dear god. what the hell do they do with their shoes? 3 months tops and it’s time for another pair.
Exactly! My daughter never wears shoes out!
This post was great! My oldest kid is starting kindergarden and until I read this I had no idea I had to buy a list of school supplies (they just supplied them in preschool). Im going to call and ask for the list.
I have heard of some states where the school supplies them. I wish I lived in one of those states!