5 Signs It's the 1st Week of School

Well, we made it through the first week!

Here are 5 signs that it's the 1st week of school:

1. You've logged more consecutive hours at the bus stop in 3 days than you will all year.

Have you been doing the obligatory bus stop wait? I'll keep showing up until the first frost. After that, these kids are on their own ;) 

2. You're halfway through a new book of checks already.

How many checks have you written this week? School fees, lunch accounts, class t-shirts, the list goes on & on...

3. You have no idea what you've done this week but you're exhausted.

I am tired like no other this week, yet I can't tell you what I've been doing all day. My house is still a wreck but I haven't stopped moving. What have I done? Maybe I should keep a log... on second thought, maybe I shouldn't ;)

4. You had that Holy Crap! Tomorrow is Friday! moment. 

That happened to me as I was brushing my teeth last night. Wait, tomorrow is Friday? Wow, what have I done all week?

5. Your child actually says to you, "Mom, I think I'm acting this way because I'm just so tired."

True story. 

So, I took his advice and put that whiney kid to bed. I love him, but you can only stand so much.

It's the first week of school. Enjoy your well deserved weekend. 

'Twas the Night Before School

And all through the house
ALL the creatures were stirring, including the mouse.

Wait, did you think I actually wrote a poem about the night before school?

Pshhhh

Uh, have we met?

I wish I had that kind of time on my hands, except I wouldn't be writing poetry. I'd be reading People magazine or watching E! No, no... I'd be elbows deep in a craft project. ooooohhhh, yeeaaahhh

My back to school eve wasn't so chipper. In fact, it was a bit of a disaster. Dramatically speaking, of course.

Let's start at the beginning.

I was riding the high from the night before when we pummeled the boys with water balloons. You can read about my sneak attack here. It was awesome, kids loved it. Memories made. Boom. I started the day with yet another awesome mom move & took the boys to get hotdogs for lunch. We spent the afternoon at the pool where I successfully defended them from the pool bullies & got their basketball back. I was on fi-yre.

Daddy came home early so I didn't have to load everyone up for football practice AND he took child #3 with him. Double bonus. Off to Kroger for me & the babe, where I saved 25% on my bill (careful planning & coupons). Best 1st day eve yet. I've got this back to school thing.

And that's when it all fell apart. 

No sooner had I entered the garage when it all came unglued. Boys were unloading from football practice. Kid #1 was crying, he spent the whole practice on the sidelines with a stomach ache. Kid #3 was running all over the garage like a maniac. Kid #4 (the baby) started screaming, "I play outside, I play outside" as soon as he saw his brother running around. 

We corralled everyone inside & we playing zone defense with Kid #4 while trying to put away groceries and comforting Kid#1 that was screaming from inside the bathroom about his stomach. All of a sudden, Kid #1 starts throwing up (all over the bathroom floor, not, of course, in the toilet). Now the Hubs is cleaning up puke and I'm trying to keep the groceries from Kid #4 who is scattering them all over the house while simultaneously trying to see what was happening in the bathroom.

Are you tired yet?

By now it's 9:00 (on a school night, mind you). Everyone finally was showered & in bed. There were tears from Kid #2 because he didn't want to go to school the next day. Kid #1 was on the floor in our room in case there was more puking. We finally made it downstairs to pack lunch & tackle the back to school paperwork. I'm starting to feel a little more settled when Kid #3 yells down, "Mommy, can I talk to you about school?"

Sure. 

I brace myself waiting for more tears & questions, especially since he's starting 1st grade. He sits next to me on the couch and says,

"When do you think you're going to be able to bring me Chipotle for lunch?"

Love that kid.

In the end, it all turned out okay. All 3 made it out the door the next morning, no problem. Yes, I did send Kid #1 to school. He woke up fine & had no fever. I did give his teacher a heads up (bet she loved that!). Mom of the Year.

Why am I sharing this? Because I think that I misled you with my post about our water balloon sneak attack. Every now & then, I pull something out of my hat; but most of the time, we're just trying to keep it together like everyone else. I like to keep it real.

The next morning, after all the chaos and everyone was loaded onto their respective busses, I sat down for a minute to snuggle my toddler & watch some Bubble Guppies. It was really quiet in my house.

I miss those guys.

We had an awesome summer & now it was time for an awesome school year.

I let myself be sad for a minute and then I got up & got moving.

After all, those kids were going to be home in 6 hours and I was going to need a nap.

How was your back to school transition? Share with me! 

5 Ways to Scare Your Child's Teacher

School starts next week around here & instead of showing you my happy dance (kidding...sort of...) I thought I'd share some back to school fun.

5 things that will scare your child's teacher

Any teacher worth her salt will wait until she meets your little darling and spends a little QT (quality time) with her before making a judgement (i.e. Is this child going to make my job delightful this year OR am I going to count the days until winter break?), but here are a couple of things you can do to scare the snot out of her before that time comes:

1. Sending the "checking in" or "heads up" email

Oh, yeah. If you feel the need to email/reach out to the teacher ahead of time, you'll likely make it onto the "potential high-maintance" list. It's potential because your teacher doesn't really know you yet so she likely doesn't want to label you but at the same time, it's a little high-maintance. Do you really need to touch base ahead of time? Can't it wait until the teacher can get a little more perspective on your child? I prefer the sneak attack email after the school year starts. You know, give her time to adjust to your kiddo & then spring your concerns on her. It's the polite thing to do ;)

2. On orientation day, your child enters the classroom like he owns the joint

There's no bigger red flag for a teacher than when a child enters his classroom for the 1st time and acts like he's in charge. Most children are at least slightly intimidated by a new classroom and a new teacher, especially if it's a new school experience (i.e. a preschooler or kindergartner). I'm all for confidence, but if your kiddo enters the room & takes charge, I know she's going to present some type of a challenge for me early on. Hopefully, it's one that's quickly nipped.

3. AND you let your toddler destroy the classroom on orientation day

Ok, no one should have to explain this one to you. Control your kids. Your new teacher has better things to do than to pick up after siblings.

4. You show up on the 1st day of school, unannounced

Your child's teacher would love to get to know you better & hear your concerns for the school year. The 1st day of school isn't the day for this. This poor teacher is likely trying to meet the needs & concerns of the 20+ kids that just entered her classroom for the 1st time. She has no time today to pay proper attention to you. Do yourself a favor: call her ahead of time & set up a time for you to stop in. Both of you will feel better about this approach. Think about it like this: would you like your biggest critic to show up at your house, unannounced, while you're trying to pack your 2.5 kids for vacation? That's what the 1st day of school is like, but about 20x louder & there are 25 kids that want your attention. It's a wee bit stressful, give your teacher some space to sort it out. She'll make time for you, promise :)

5. AND you bring a gift...

I love a good Pinterest gift as much as the next mom, but if you show up on the 1st day with a gift your child's teacher is going to wonder why. Why do you need to bring gift? Are you apologizing in advance for something? Gifts are always appreciated but 1st day of school gifts aren't necessary. If you feel the need to do something, bring your child's teacher a cup of coffee or something caffeinated. Or something chocolate. Or get involved with PTO and help with the back to school luncheon. Or just send a gift- you don't have to listen to me. 


The good news? Teachers don't really scare easily. Chances are good that they've seen it or heard it before. I'm just trying to help you make a good 1st impression. It's up to you & your little darling to make it stick ;)
Here's to a successful school year! 

2, 4, 6, 8 who do we appreciate?

Have an awesome teacher that you looooooove & want to celebrate? This is the week to do it! My kids have been extremely blessed with awesome teachers & I plan to let them know how much we love them. I'm thinking the gift has to be sparkly & have some kind of an apple on it since we all know how much teachers love apples...

                                          

Ha! Just kidding :) Let's bypass the apple crap & get your teacher something she really wants. What, you might ask, is that? Well, I can tell you what she doesn't want...ahem, see above. I took the liberty of speaking for my profession & made a list of gifts your child's teacher would probably rather not get.

What not to give: (not because they're bad gifts, just because your teacher probably already has a stock pile of them... think Doomsday Preppers)

coffee mugs

ornaments

lotion

anything with an apple on it

clothing

anything ceramic

picture frames

stuffed animals, especially used ones

anything you wouldn't want to own and/or display in your own home or workplace

What your teacher would love:

a gift card to a favorite restaurant

a nice, handwritten note of appreciation from you

a gift card toa favorite store

a lovely drawing from your child

a gift card for a fun project at home

favorite snacks

gift cards in general :)

See a pattern?

Now, I'm not saying that teachers are greedy or unappreciative. Any teacher worth her salt will plaster a genuine smile on her face and readily accept any gift your precious child bestows upon us. It's who we are. BUT, if you want to know that teachers really want, I must say, no one has turned down a gift card- like ever.

Why gift cards? Don't teachers make enough money to spend themselves? They have June, July & August off to supplement their salary.

I could barely type that without choking. Seriously? Teachers, as a general rule, are selfless. Meaning that they do a job that they love that pays next to nothing because the rewards they give & get are priceless. I guarantee your child's teacher spends little of her salary on shopping and/or fun. (I count shopping as fun!) She probably spends a chunk of it on classroom supplies. If she has a family, the bulk of her salary goes to taking care of her own children & paying out the nose for childcare. At the end of the day, your child's teacher probably has very little to spend on herself. Gift cards are an awesome way to appreciate your teacher. Do a little leg work & find out what she really likes. If you ask her, I bet she'll tell you. 

As for June, July & August, your child's teacher is probably spending a chunk of her summer on professional development. There are always multiple seminars to attend to better your teaching strategies & many teachers take advantage of this. Many teachers also tutor during those summer months. When I was a new teacher, I nannied everyday in the summer. I know very few teachers that take their entire summer off to just spend their gift cards. 

What about a personalized gift? My child would love to spend hours painting pottery for his teacher. Wouldn't she love that?

Yes, yes she would; which makes the guilt tremendous when you have to dispose of it. The harsh truth is that teachers receive multitudes of these priceless treasures yearly & at some point, you just can't keep everything. I get that everything your child makes is near & dear to your heart- I have 4 little people that make me priceless treasures all the time. If your teacher has her own children, she too has priceless treasures being made for her at home. You can't compete with that; if your teacher has to choose between art created by her children or art created by her students, you know which one will win. Save the ceramics for Grandma, she will love them forever & ever.

EEK! I've given my child's teacher a gift from the Do Not give list above. Is my child blacklisted?

Hee, hee. Nah, of course not. We aren't cruel & heartless. We know what your child probably had nothing to do with the gift. We also know that you probably truly thought we'd enjoy it. Look, everybody gets stuff they don't want all the time. I just thought I'd give you an inside scoop on the way to your teacher's heart. We absolutely appreciate the thought & effort that went into your gift. And unless it was truly heinous, we probably didn't share it with our friends. If you did give, say, something ridiculous- like a school bus cookie jar- then it may or may not be a running joke that gets passed back & forth among us.... hey, everybody likes to have a little fun sometimes. Even your stuffy teacher in her apple sweater. 

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Teachers, share with me your favorite gifts! I'm always looking for new ideas!