Bean,  Changes,  Dads,  Fourth Grade,  Fun Things,  Gracie,  Milestones,  Parenting,  Second Grade

The First Day of School (…one week later)

So, I meant to post this blog post last week, but… life.  Despite the late posting, our first week back was really great!  The kids have excellent teachers this year and both have friends in their classes, too.  They were pretty pumped to get back to school. They were NOT so pumped to have their pictures taken directly in the sunshine at 8:00 in the morning on the first day of school.

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I’m not going to lie. It has been difficult to get settled into a routine with my new job. I love having the freedom to drop off in the morning, but I’m still struggling with how to manage my work day after I pick them up from school at 3:00. They aren’t in aftercare for the first time and so we are now responsible for homework at home, instead of them being able to get it done before I picked them up in years past.

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It’s hard to focus on them after a fun school day, when their little minds are racing and they have so much to say to me because in my head I have about 10,000 work things that I am right in the middle of when pick up time rolls around. It is hard for me to come in and out of work mode smoothly and so I am working on that balance right now. But, I’m giving myself grace in this first week as we ALL learn a new routine for the new school year.

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Also different this year is my role as the PTA President, which I GROSSLY underestimated when I was elected. I knew there was a lot involved insofar as planning and organization was concerned. I did NOT know how often it would require me to be up at the kids school. I think I was up there for something almost every day this first week. On the first day of school, the PTA hosted our annual “Boo Hoo/Wahoo Breakfast” for kindergarten parents.

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I’ve chaired this event for the past few years, but have never actually been able to attend it myself because I always had to be at my own school on the first day. This year, though, I was able to coordinate, arrange, and host it and it was so fun! We had over 40 kindergarten parents show up, which is our biggest turn out ever! We served Einstein Bagels and coffee, and had PTA information, event calendars, and volunteer sign ups laid out. It was a big hit!

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But that was really just the beginning. From dropping membership packets to checking our mailbox to moving fundraising supplies that were delivered and dropped in the middle of the front office, it has been something just about every day. I’m hoping this settles down a little bit because it has been disruptive to my work days. But, again, grace upon grace upon grace. The first week is always bumpy, so I’m hoping it settles soon.

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I took this picture of Chris and Bean on the first day of school, just before Bean walked to his desk and we left. Chris was telling him to pay attention, learn a lot, but mostly to be kind to others. Goodness, he is such a good daddy.

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So, we survived our first week of school. This weekend, we have taken it easy to rest up after such a fun, busy week back in the grind. But Gracie came up to me about 10 minutes ago and said how excited she was to start her second week tomorrow, so that’s something. One day at a time, friends. One day at a time.

3 Comments

  • Jenn

    I’m a full time remote work from home mom with 2 kids in elementary school. I’ve found that sending them to after care or an after school activity 2-3 times a week really helps me accomplish what i need to for work without having to switch gears.

    And good luck with the PTA-that’s like a 20 hour a week part time job!

  • September

    I’m a work from home mom with four kids–two in preschool then middle/high school. I have childcare for the little people every day during school hours except Friday but yes, that afternoon time is rough, This isn’t ideal but I usually end up working every night after the small people are in bed (7-10)–its a personal sacrifice but I get the family time. And a few days a week my husband takes over at 5 and I’ll work straight through from 5-10. We started a business around two years ago so it really is necessary to put the time in now–it’s kind of insane but we keep telling ourselves it’ll pay off in the long run.

    And I’m just going to warn you now that PTA is a HUGE time commitment for the top slots (President and Treasurer are the most time consuming, with fundraising a close 3rd)–basically a part time job. For several years I was heavily involved in our elementary PTA and served as Treasurer for two years (about a 5-8 hour a week job); we had a school of about t600 students and an annual budget of around 40K. This is probably none of my business but it’s kind of a red flag that they elected a president who hadn’t been that very active in the past; hopefully things work out for you but generally President is a position you grown and move into. Regardless good luck for a great year!

  • nylse

    I thought about you this week as you venture into your new job. Blogging can make us seem so connected. Anyhow I said a little prayer for you and kept it moving. Grace upon grace upon grace.

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