SKL Posted August 30, 2014 Share Posted August 30, 2014 I do realize lots of you don't send your kids elsewhere for school, but I'm sure some of you will relate anyway. This time of year is so hard on my kids and, therefore, on me. They are fearful and overstimulated and exhausted with so many changes at the same time. Of course they will never admit any of these, won't relax and go to sleep, so add over-tired into the mix. And all that brings with it. I know it will pass but I iz tired. Who else would like a little vent? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
almondbutterandjelly Posted August 30, 2014 Share Posted August 30, 2014 I agree completely. The first two weeks of school were complete he**. This was the third week of school, and it has levelled out to what is hopefully the new normal. We have also had lots of talks about not stressing and what's the worst that can happen if you're tardy or you fail something? Will your hand fall off? No. We are emphasizing learning over grades (although grades are actually fine, just not 100 across the board. So what.) Thankfully, she has been sleeping okay, although her mattress was on our floor the first couple of weeks, to help ease her anxiety. So, yes, it was horrible, and yes, it does get better. Blurgh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LLMom Posted August 30, 2014 Share Posted August 30, 2014 Mine were tired, but since they have been in 2 weeks, they seemed to have adjusted. It does take time to get in the swing of things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Word Nerd Posted August 30, 2014 Share Posted August 30, 2014 We've had a fairly smooth adjustment, and both kids are still caught up in the back-to-school excitement. I have trouble getting them to get to bed all summer, but that isn't an issue now because they're tired at bedtime. I think it's harder on me than the kids because there's so much more running around to do and the calendar fills up so quickly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m0mmaBuck Posted August 30, 2014 Share Posted August 30, 2014 I haven't started and am not looking forward to it. I haven't even decided when to start. PS picks back up on Sept 3 so some time after that will be good. It has started raining again here so it will be easier to stay inside if the weather is miserable... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arctic Bunny Posted August 30, 2014 Share Posted August 30, 2014 Sigh. We've had SUCH a lazy summer! Back to school for them, bank to work for me. Sadly, it's me that has the hardest time going in the mornings.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthwestMom Posted August 30, 2014 Share Posted August 30, 2014 Ha. My two public schoolers actually do fine at school - I am the problem. I hate the carpooling to activities with the heat of a thousand fiery suns. I am an introvert by nature, but I love education and am involved at both schools, so there's a daily barrage of mommy small-talk. I would much rather have nice long, warm days at home ALONE with my kids and my book..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freesia Posted August 30, 2014 Share Posted August 30, 2014 Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! We got home from the beach on Sunday and started school Monday (don't ask why--there is a good reason!) 4 grades-- K-9. The ninth grader did okay, but had trouble keeping all his syllabi straight. The youngest 2 got sick and my third ended up in the ER. "Fortunately" it was only a severe, severe (doctor's words) sinus infection. Dh took over as substitute teacher during that visit, which meant somethings were done different than I meant them to be-but I didn't complain. I just gave oldest a lecture on substitute teachers and how we need to do things there way. Somehow the sixth grader trucked along, doing okay. My house is a mess, my to-do list wasn't touched, and then dh mentioned that we had church cleaning this week. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinder Posted August 30, 2014 Share Posted August 30, 2014 It's been a month and I'm still adjusting. Ds2 attends a university-model school so last year he only attended classes M-W-F. And he didn't start until third period so we got to leave a couple hours later and miss all the crazy morning traffic. This year, in addition to a similar schedule as last year's, he also has an early morning T-Th class and we have to deal with the beastly traffic that makes our commute twice as long as on M-W-F. I am *not* liking it at all. :glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiramisu Posted August 30, 2014 Share Posted August 30, 2014 I am really dreading fights between two girls who both have to be out before seven and who will have to share the bathroom in the morning. We better get talking to come up with a good plan. One dd will be taking the bus with two girls from the neighborhood, and I am really worried about trouble on the bus because of the drama we've had with one of them lately. I have even thought about driving her myself to avoid any issues. I can deal with the kids. I just can't deal with one of the moms who will I know will call me if her dd happens to be the one who feels left out on any particular day--which I think will eventually happen if you have three friends on a bus with seats that only accommodate two. Only two years left of middle school. Only two years left of middle school. Only two years left of middle school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
displace Posted August 31, 2014 Share Posted August 31, 2014 We've been adjusting to being tired, excited, anxious, and happy. We've struggled with after schooling, teacher meetings, and papers. We've had new emotions, friends, extracurriculars, routines, doctor appts, all of it. I about gave up after schooling but somehow we've been working a little, reading aloud a lot, and doing a lot of learning computer games. Now if only PS teachers would teach what I want them to and schools only had about 5-10 students in the class I think I'd feel better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joyofsixreboot Posted August 31, 2014 Share Posted August 31, 2014 The kids are fine. I'm a stressed out, over worked wreck. Did I mention I hate school! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomtoCandJ Posted August 31, 2014 Share Posted August 31, 2014 Dd1 doesn't start until Tuesday, so not looking forward to the mornings (dh gets her up and on the bus most mornings but I can still hear the whining). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravin Posted August 31, 2014 Share Posted August 31, 2014 I've started a couple of threads about DD adjusting. She's getting there slowly, I think. Sleep has been non-negotiable. Now if she can just manage to pass a math quiz...I don't like that "participation" and "effort" grades are the only thing separating her from an F... And DD is marked unexcused for her sick day according to the online thingie, which hopefully is due to the school receptionist being out on maternity leave, because I called in, darn it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arctic Bunny Posted August 31, 2014 Share Posted August 31, 2014 School supplies are labelled, backpacks are pack. Ready to go Tuesday! Ds7 got a welcome letter in the mail from his teacher last week, so he's happy :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted August 31, 2014 Author Share Posted August 31, 2014 Yesterday was the worst night I can remember, but today was much better. Yesterday I was wondering if I should just burn all of my afterschooling materials since it looked like we were never going to get near it. But today, we got some work done and it was a calm, pleasant, productive evening. Yay! On Thursday night I recieved about 100 papers from the teacher. Multiple discipline policies to read and sign (classroom, internet, social media, electronic devices, dress code), "tell me about you and your kid" forms (two for each kid), "here's how to label your kid's two accordion files," "here's how you access the online goodies" (3 different sites involving 5 different passwords), multiple fundraisers, "spirit wear" and book club orders, newsletters, memory lists, spelling lists, homework policies, assignment books, ... and even a tiny bit of info about what the kids are going to do in 3rd grade. (But not enough info on that last one!) I spent hours today going through all those papers and then going over them again with my kids so all three of us could sign and promise to follow the policies and procedures. Boy am I glad that's over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
displace Posted August 31, 2014 Share Posted August 31, 2014 ... and even a tiny bit of info about what the kids are going to do in 3rd grade. (But not enough info on that last one!) I find this frustrating. In our school it's like a national security secret to find out the curriculum. What level should we be at by this time frame? What will be covered in math? How underwhelmingly inadequate will science be? What ridiculous % correct will be required for passing? I know some schools or districts post curriculum, but even when I ask specific questions it's a whole new song and dance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted August 31, 2014 Author Share Posted August 31, 2014 School supplies are labelled, backpacks are pack. Ready to go Tuesday! Ds7 got a welcome letter in the mail from his teacher last week, so he's happy :) We got a letter from the teacher in early August. My kids did not smile. It said, among other things, "I hope you're practicing your math facts and reading every day! Don't want your brain to get mushy! Enclosed are 4 homework assignments that you need to bring to school on the first day." :P When I need a laugh, I imagine what my mom would have done with a letter like that when I was 7. Haha. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted August 31, 2014 Author Share Posted August 31, 2014 I find this frustrating. In our school it's like a national security secret to find out the curriculum. What level should we be at by this time frame? What will be covered in math? How underwhelmingly inadequate will science be? What ridiculous % correct will be required for passing? I know some schools or districts post curriculum, but even when I ask specific questions it's a whole new song and dance. I might have mentioned this elsewhere, but our school does post curriculum, and I checked it toward the end of summer (in case they changed it) and then I bought some materials to work on at home, since one of my kids will not retain all she "learns" in school. Well, except for math, they have changed everything. The school website still shows all the old stuff. I hope they will update it someday. The teacher gave the publisher name for the curricula, but that isn't enough. Some of it will involve only "consumable" books, which may mean I will never get to see them (they usually don't send the workbooks home until the last day of school). On the positive side, they did send home the password for the Singapore Math online curriculum, which was kept from us last year. That provides access to the textbook and workbook they are using in school. Of course I, thinking I would not have such access, had bought the workbooks and a bunch of other supplements. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arctic Bunny Posted August 31, 2014 Share Posted August 31, 2014 We got a letter from the teacher in early August. My kids did not smile. It said, among other things, "I hope you're practicing your math facts and reading every day! Don't want your brain to get mushy! Enclosed are 4 homework assignments that you need to bring to school on the first day." :P When I need a laugh, I imagine what my mom would have done with a letter like that when I was 7. Haha. To give you a glimpse of what's possible ;) here is DS7's letter: Dear _____; Hi! I am your new teacher this year. My name is Mrs. ______. I am very excited to meet you and I am so happy I get to be your teacher this year! I'll tell you a little about myself. I am __ years old. My husband and I have a little girl named _____. She is _age_. She is so much fun! I love to read, _____, ____, ____, _____, and ____. I can't wait to get to know more about you! See you soon, Your teacher, Mrs. _____ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tap Posted August 31, 2014 Share Posted August 31, 2014 School clothes are bought for dd7 and piled in bags on the staircase (not washed or put away yet). Dd15 has hers all taken care of. School supplies are stashed in about 3 different places and I haven't checked the list to see if I have everything. I still need to label and sort the supplies according to the school list on which are personal use and which are class use. A few weeks ago, I got a letter that my special needs daughter's school sent. It was asking about special needs busing arrangements. I needed to fill it out and send back in so they could plan the route. I put on the fridge to mail back........my appendix ruptured and craziness ensued and.....I found it still stuck to the fridge today. Oops. I don't know if she will be picked up on Wednesday or not. Guess we will just wait and see if they call me, because they are closed until then anyways. All in all, it will just be a few hours of laundry and labeling, but I really am not interested in doing it. This is year 15 of back to school for me, and I guess the bloom is off the rose for me. As a positive side note. This is the first year that I have all my kids returning to the same school as last year! This has never happened before and I have to say, it was sooooo very nice to have a summer that wasn't full of picking out new schools, paying tution and figuring out how to get through the school parking lot on the first day. :party: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arctic Bunny Posted August 31, 2014 Share Posted August 31, 2014 Off topic, but I've seen school parking lots mentioned a lot.... I should really take a picture Tuesday, first day back, and show you what the second (third?) busiest day of the year here looks like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwik Posted August 31, 2014 Share Posted August 31, 2014 I find this frustrating. In our school it's like a national security secret to find out the curriculum. What level should we be at by this time frame? What will be covered in math? How underwhelmingly inadequate will science be? What ridiculous % correct will be required for passing? I know some schools or districts post curriculum, but even when I ask specific questions it's a whole new song and dance. I would like: by the end of this year your child should be able to do ...Nice clear, measurable targets so the kids know where they are going and I know how to help them get there. I don't see why everything has to be so vague and confusing. In my kids school the 4 year 3/4 classes seem to be doing entirely different things and it was the same last year. I would love the school to say "we use this maths book, this writing system etc", as it is the only thing I know is the spelling lists and they are being ignored in favour of word groups at the moment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linders Posted August 31, 2014 Share Posted August 31, 2014 Commiserating here. Mine aren't fearful - they are actually finding it wonderful to be so quickly accepted by the kids (this small private school was the right decision), and DS11 already has a "best friend". But they are exhausted physically, mentally, and emotionally. Stressed - especially DS11, the rule follower, who has ended up in hot water for minor things. DS14 is discovering Mom-Teacher wasn't so hard after all. And I miss them, our reading time, our relaxed mornings. The dog is happy, though. He gets these hour-long walks every morning when I return from school dropoff. And I am slowly tackling some ages-old projects. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiramisu Posted August 31, 2014 Share Posted August 31, 2014 I've started a couple of threads about DD adjusting. She's getting there slowly, I think. Sleep has been non-negotiable. Now if she can just manage to pass a math quiz...I don't like that "participation" and "effort" grades are the only thing separating her from an F... And DD is marked unexcused for her sick day according to the online thingie, which hopefully is due to the school receptionist being out on maternity leave, because I called in, darn it! You may want to double check. In our district, unless you get a doctor's note, it is unexcused. Last year, I got a note from the doctor for everything. They were close and would write a note if I called an explained what was going on. Now I changed practices to follow our favorite docs and I don't know if the new practice will be the same. Another worry I have this year for a kid with lots of absences. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caroline Posted August 31, 2014 Share Posted August 31, 2014 I've started a couple of threads about DD adjusting. She's getting there slowly, I think. Sleep has been non-negotiable. Now if she can just manage to pass a math quiz...I don't like that "participation" and "effort" grades are the only thing separating her from an F... And DD is marked unexcused for her sick day according to the online thingie, which hopefully is due to the school receptionist being out on maternity leave, because I called in, darn it! You may need to send a note. I have to send a note. It doesn't have to be from a doctor. I just write: To whom it may concern; Please excuse Jane Smith from school Friday, August 29, 2014. She was sick. Sincerely, Caroline Smith 123-146-1234 I think NCLB requires written documentation for an absence, and schools get dinged if there are too many absences without notes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TammyinTN Posted August 31, 2014 Share Posted August 31, 2014 Ds is doing way better than me this year...I was completely excited for the first 3 day weekend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravin Posted August 31, 2014 Share Posted August 31, 2014 You may want to double check. In our district, unless you get a doctor's note, it is unexcused. Last year, I got a note from the doctor for everything. They were close and would write a note if I called an explained what was going on. Now I changed practices to follow our favorite docs and I don't know if the new practice will be the same. Another worry I have this year for a kid with lots of absences. Per school attendance policy, a parent must call the attendance line within 48 hours of an absence. I called in the morning of, before school started. A doctor's note is only required for a prolonged absence or frequent absence due to chronic illness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiramisu Posted September 1, 2014 Share Posted September 1, 2014 Per school attendance policy, a parent must call the attendance line within 48 hours of an absence. I called in the morning of, before school started. A doctor's note is only required for a prolonged absence or frequent absence due to chronic illness. The policy is the same, I think, in our elementary and middle schools. At the high school level, they actually specify that you are allowed a certain number of unexcused absences (which means a parent's note, of course) but after that, you must have a doctor's note and then they are officially classified as excused. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vonfirmath Posted September 1, 2014 Share Posted September 1, 2014 I've started a couple of threads about DD adjusting. She's getting there slowly, I think. Sleep has been non-negotiable. Now if she can just manage to pass a math quiz...I don't like that "participation" and "effort" grades are the only thing separating her from an F... And DD is marked unexcused for her sick day according to the online thingie, which hopefully is due to the school receptionist being out on maternity leave, because I called in, darn it! At our school, calling in is not sufficient. You need to send a note as well when they return. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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