If you haven’t noticed…August is winding up. For the parental types of school age kids this mean the big gear up for back to school.
Or depending on where you live….this may have happened already. Or for people like us…it couldn’t happen soon enough.
This is the time when my kids have not only forgotten the 3 R’s…they have practically forgotten how to dress or speak. We are surrounded by semi feral dirty grunty creatures who stay up too late and the term ‘routine’ is just not anywhere in any of their now smooth and seamless lobes that USED to be young ripply brains.
I kid you not. My kids are either naked or sleeping in the same clothes they played in all day.
I think, despite what I would define as a truly crummy and boring summer, this means that they have had fun.
The parental wing of the world wide web is FILLED with articles about back to school…from prepping kids, fashion, learning solutions, lunch solutions..you name it…they are talking about it.
One thing that the more ‘crunchy’ stores are touting is reusable sandwich bags. Great. They are fun and cute and one more thing to get lost OR if you have my kids who FORGET to bring home lunches for days and then when they do leave me to have deal with half eaten old sandwiches in the plastic ziploc baggies that I just shudder at and throw away. With REUSABLE ones you are asking me to CLEAN and TOUCH the GROSS and MOLDERING remains of sandwiches!!! Seriously. How much am I supposed to love the planet.
The STATE my sons lunches come back to me is revolting. I have tried fancy lunch bags. I have a cool water bottle for him. Then I bought a lunch box that has mini boxes and an ice pack. It all gets lost and forgotten and when they do come back….ugh. And nothing is EVER eaten cept the treats anyway. Or maybe THREE pieces of broccoli.
The boy won’t eat. Anything…..unless it is junk. He will hold out for DAYS to ensure optimum emptiness in his stomach to fill with chocolate or chips or ice cream.
Come September, I get to do this times two. At least Caity eats. Mostly.
I can’t even get excited about back to school. I mean yes YAY two kids in school ALL DAY. That IS something to be boggled about. However, the disaster that is the first few weeks at our school is not making me all warm and fuzzy.
See our school NEVER has classes or teachers set up for the beginning of school. They say they have to wait to see how many kids actually show up for school including the late registrants, etc.
Add the mess that is the budget of the Vancouver School Board and who KNOWS what disaster will befall us this time around.
I really really think that we should (if we had the dosh) plan our vacation for the first two weeks in September. That way we just bring the kids back to a class and teacher and that is that. No roller coaster of who will the teacher be or will they split up the classes again and no two weeks of the kids learning NOTHING while they sit in classes with their teachers from the previous year waiting to sort it all out.
I am sure this sucks for the teachers too.
How can you plan anything for your class. How can you get your supplies sorted out. I can’t buy school supplies. Last year they got one list from ONE teacher and then they changed everything and I had to reshop and organize for another DIFFERENT list. And at our school we pay the school for supplies that they provide. Then the poor school has to keep track of who paid what for which class.
A total nightmare.
We haven’t even heard if the annex is being closed for certain and I can only imagine the nightmare that working parents are going through now trying to set up before and after school care for their kids.
Seriously Chad, this is reason #45468 that non parents are probably QUITE happy to stay that way.
While my son has managed fine at school…I have had my battles. I have had issues with the teachers. I have attended meetings. I have been ‘that’ parent.
I don’t enjoy it.
I am sure the teachers and the principal enjoy it even less.
This rocky start does no good for sensitive kids and their parents. Heck…this sort of start to the school year is not good for ANY parent who is aware and concerned about the well being mentally and academically of their kids.
There has GOT to be a better way.
Looking at the VSB web site, I am horrified to see that Professional Days are all ready set up for some schools days after school starts. I can only HOPE that it is due to the budget issues and list of potential school closures.
However, I get the feeling that many other school districts handle the first few weeks of school a lot better than ours does…or at least our own school does, and this frustrates me so much.
Adam is going into Grade 3 and Caity is starting Grade 1 next month. This will be huge for Caity. She goes from the stupid short less than half days in Kindergarten to full days….what full days I am not sure as the hours may or may not be changing too.
My job as a parent is to make sure my kids are filled with enthusiasm and confidence for tackling the enormity of school.
I just wish the system would stop making this so difficult.
NaomiJesson says
I never thought about the reusable sandwich bag grossness. Thank you. I can now avoid that.
Wow. That is really tough not knowing if your school will be open. Here in the ‘burbs, we are just concerned that our child will be in a portable because of all the growth. We have Edu-paks in the burbs that we purchase so we don’t have to worry about school supplies. I don’t know if they refer to the teachers regarding what they will need or if it is universal in our district.
This is my first time “back to school” so it’s my first time to school, I am sure I will miss something. Currently I am just concerned that they refuse to go to bed until 10pm. Although, I am looking forward to my measly 2 hours on Tuesday.
I will probably end up cleaning. Heh.
Rhonda says
packing lunches this morning for day camp and yet again #3 did not eat his lunch. i think he’s eaten his lunch 1 day this week. fun times ahead.
JP @ rants n' rascals says
I am lucky we arranged for Jake (Gamer) to come home for lunch since it’s a five minute walk with the school behind us. This way I know he’s eating right and getting the nutrition he needs. Mon, Wed, Fri he will do the lunch program which costs us $20 bucks a month.
Getting our youngest to sleep early enough is going to be hard though. Trace will go to preschool mon – fri and he’s not used to that, he only went two days last year. So yeah it’s going to be challenging!
pomomama says
I am so glad that I’m not the only one who a. ponders the sanity of re-usable lunch anything for schoolkids, and b. hates hates HATES the total up-fuckery of the first two weeks of back-to-school (total waste of time unless you consider it as free childminding ….. which i’m more and more conviced is its only value in society).