August at last!

It probably won’t come as a surprise to anyone who saw my post at the end of May on having the kids home for the summer, but I’m really ready for them to go back to school. Fortunately, that’s just two and a half weeks now!

In many ways, the summer’s been easier than I thought it would be, although that probably has a lot to do with being willing to use electronic babysitters. Yes, my kids have spent an inordinate amount of time on the Xbox, the laptop, and my iPad — playing games, watching movies, and mostly staying out of my hair so I could still work and write. (I’ve even finished and sent out a couple of new stories this summer.) Which isn’t to say I didn’t do things with the kids. Library every week. One memorable trip to a playground (It didn’t end well). A trip to a different park. A trip to the museum.

I’ve made sure the kids are reading (okay, that’s not exactly hard, although my son is complaining that he doesn’t need any more recommendations of books to read now, Mom, thank you) and practicing their math (the boy has his summer algebra packet; I’ve had to print out addition, subtraction, and time worksheets for the girl). And the boy’s started up band camp, too, which takes him out of the house for a couple of hours every morning.

On the other hand, when the kids are both downstairs for any length of time, the squabbling starts. And when the boy has his best friend over, they tend to chatter a lot, which rather distracts me from what I’m trying to get done. And every now and then, we get that age-old plaint of children everywhere — “I’m bored!” (Although my son has learned to follow this up very quickly with, “No, Mom, I’m not asking for suggestions.”)

I’m probably the only one of us who’s eager for this year to start. My son’s still nervous about being a teen, and being in 8th grade weirds him out. My daughter? Well, she went to the same school for kindergarten that she did for preschool, so now that she’s going into first grade, she’s switching schools to a larger place with more kids, most of whom she won’t know. She’s nervous. Last night, in fact, she was telling me she was scared about kindergarten even though it was still the same school and she knew most everyone. So this? Yeah, big step for her.

Which doesn’t change the fact that I’m counting down to August 25.

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10 Responses to August at last!

  1. Nicki Ivey says:

    I’m not counting down yet. I’ve still got so much stuff to do! But I’m eager to get the kids settled in to their new routines of school, homework, and Scouts, and to get settled in myself to regular mornings at work on time. Both kids are both excited and anxious about starting school again, but I have a feeling they’re both going to simply love it.

    • Erin says:

      Oh, yeah, there’s a ton of stuff to do — but then, there always is. Today, I took a step forward: while grocery shopping, the girl and I bought her very own lunch bag (pink with black polkadots and lime-green trim).

      Routines do seem to help, don’t they? I’m sure your kids are going to rock their new grades.

  2. Margaret says:

    Clever to keep them active with their maths :). I wish I’d done that with ME!

    • Erin says:

      The boy’s school sent the math packet home with him at the end of last year. I discovered it in his backpack and informed him he would be completing it. He tried to tell me he only had to try everything. I told him my expectations were higher than the school’s. Wisely, he decided arguing was not in his best interest.

      The girl has no formal work (which is why I had to download worksheets from the Internet), but if they’re both doing it, they’re less likely to complain.

  3. Ashe Elton Parker says:

    Sounds like a good summer! I hope your kids settle into their new schools/grades with success!

  4. Kathleen Hammond says:

    They start here on 11 August 2014. A teacher told me, because I asked, it was because they (don’t know whether he meant the teachers or school board, and yes, you do know him) found that the students couldn’t remember what they had learned all the time. Back a few years, we spent the first two weeks or so reviewing what we had learned the previous year. Boring. But, there may have been students who did need that review.

    Did I confuse you enough? Have a nice day.

    • Erin says:

      I figured I knew the teacher you talked to. 😉

      Wow, they’re starting early. Same rationale — keep the summer slide from being as severe.

      I hated that we always spent the first marking period or so going over old material. It was so boring. Yes, in retrospect, I’m sure others may have needed it. But for me, it was annoying. Which makes me glad they want the boy to keep up over the summer; it probably means less boredom for him next year. (Although he did have complaints about the teacher taking two or three weeks to go over material his dad explained to him in forty minutes…)

  5. Kathleen Hammond says:

    Yes, but not all teachers have the patience that his dad has when explaining material. He’s very lucky that way.

    The time off will be different, too. I think he said a week in October. I couldn’t find the rational in that. Three weeks for Christmas which is longer than what we got. And, a week or was it two in the Spring. It’s all supposed to work out fine.

    Wild Waters is not happy about this. There go all their workers in the best part of the summer. Hope the classrooms have A/C.

    • Erin says:

      Yeah, the college here gets time off in October, too. The husband finds it relaxing.

      Sounds like they’re shifting closer to a year-round model.

      The A/C and the heat were both always subpar, especially in the older buildings. (O’Brien was the best school I had for temperature control, but as you will recall, it was only a couple of years old when I went.)

      Wild Waters may be losing their workers, but they’ll also be losing a lot of the crowds that they need the workers for, so it should balance out. 😛

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