whiteboard
Maybe it’s because I was a geek, or maybe I have always relished new beginnings, but as far back as I can remember I LOVED the beginning of the school year.
New clothes, pristine notebooks and a package of new pens, the world of possibilities opened by new teachers and new classes…. I loved it all. From elementary school all the way through grad school and beyond, the start of school has always been a time of hopeful anticipation for me.
As a mom, I enjoy the back-to-school rituals with my son. Getting him new shoes and a fresh haircut, shopping for a new backpack or lunchbox. And really enjoying the last few days of summer with bike rides and extra popsicles.
Fall is also the time I really get the urge to “GET ORGANIZED.” Each year I was in school, probably starting in high-school, but definitely in college, I always vowed that this would be the year that I would come up with a schedule and really stick to it. Not get behind on my reading, always hand in my papers on time, practice music diligently, and work out regularly to boot.
Needless to say, I never achieved those lofty goals, and still find myself in the fall swearing that this year, I’m really gonna get my act together. I’m going to have a master calendar so that I don’t schedule a workshop on top of a violin recital. Or double book myself for a work meeting and a school meeting… UGGG.
I vow that this year, I will not find myself scrambling in the morning to fill the lunchbox with something besides an apple, a handful of stale pretzels and a little tub of peanut butter. This is the year I will have all forms, permission slips, and other miscellaneous paperwork filled out, signed and returned before the last possible minute.
Can I get an “amen?”
I’m pretty good with the food thing. I usually manage to pull off a lunch with at least three of the four major food groups, and at least one fruit or veggie (even if it’s fruit leather!), but I’m still working on the scheduling thing… that seems to be one of my biggest challenges.
I am making progress,however, slowly but surely.
Last year, I figured out a way to help my son get to school with everything he needs on any given day (which changes!). Maybe this will help someone else!
At the beginning of the school year, I put up a dry-erase board on the door we exit on the way to school. I listed the days of the week and beside each one, drew a small picture of what needed to go to school that day and what after-school activities were scheduled. So Monday it was easy to see that AJ needed to take his violin to school, and that we had a violin lesson after school. Tuesdays were gymnastics and homework days. Wednesday, the homework folder needed to go back to school… etc.
If there was something special to remember- a permission slip, or project supplies, that could be added easily to the right day.
At the bottom, I had pictures of things that he needed to bring everyday: lunchbox and hat stayed constant, though the picture of the hat changed from ballcap to winter hat sometime in October. When it got really chilly, we added mittens to the list and when snow came, AJ drew a picture of a sled on the board.
Instead of asking, “Do you have everything?” (to which he would always answer “yes,” I asked, “Have you checked the list?” If he hadn’t, he would.
This little thing made all our lives much easier- and cut down on the frustration (his and mine) of forgotten items.
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
You’re allowed to send peanut butter to school?!!! Wow, that would have made life so much easier around here when F. went to school.
I find it interesting that even though we don’t do school anymore, there is still a lot of “starting” or “organizing” pressure at this time of year. But I’m too busy for us to start full on school stuff at the same time as everyone else. So I’m trying to ignore it.
.-= JoVE´s last blog ..Attn: Chicago folks =-.
@JoVE- I’ve heard that there’s something about the meteor showers in August that helps us shift from the ‘being’ mode of the summer to the ‘doing’ mode that seems to be such a hallmark of fall. I found that very interesting. Maybe that’s why the energy of ‘starting’ is so present this time of year. But given that so much other stuff is starting now, it makes perfect sense to stagger things a bit!
Love the idea! I am going to try that here. Like you, we have different items each day of the week that Jake is responsible for bringing and if there is a list of all the possibilities for the week, it will be easy peasy to see them all in one place. Luckily, this year we are not committed to a lot of after school activities. But, it will change I am sure. I have also noticed that we are more excited about school and the fact that it starts later this year, that makes the morning routine a little smoother.
@De- Glad to hear the year is starting out well for you guys. Lemme know how the poster board thing works out for you. (You can even send in photos!) I’m all for anything that makes the morning routine not so crazy!