Back in Session

Today marks the fifth day of school in our district. It sure seems to come early now! Yes, back in the old days when we were kids, school started after Labor Day.

This year I have an 8th grader, a 3rd grader, the fiance's 1st grader and my own kindergartner. That is a whole lot of school, scheduling, activities and projects to coordinate! We managed two separate "Meet the Teacher" nights on opposite sides of town in two nights for three kids. The oldest doesn't have Open House until Thursday of this week. Yikes! Is that coming up already?! The first book orders have already been sent home as well as the pleas from the PTA for support. *sigh* This is just the beginning of the year too. They aren't pacing themselves at all.

Last year, my son's special education teacher coaxed us to be example parents or "role model parents". We are very family oriented and have had quite a bit of success with helping Colton learn better ways of communicating. The teachers were very appreciative and thankful to have parents that were so cooperative and open with them. Sadly, that is a rarity. We didn't chose to be "role model parents" last year because it was so late in the school year. This year may be a different story. I miss my time on the PTA. Being involved in the school and helping others feels so very rewarding. With another child in the school, it feels like I should be giving back to the students, the parents and the staff.

Now I just need to figure out how to distribute my time and efforts to each of the three schools. That is a task! I am seriously considering role model parenting for the younger two of mine. I am not certain that my schedule at work will allow me to sit on the PTA. Chad's family has quite generously donated to his daughter's school and I am certain that the support will continue there. My daughter's middle school is the one I am having trouble knowing what I can do to help. Hopefully Open House provides some light to shed on that.

Teachers and schools need our help to operate and function successfully. A school's success = a child's success.

See you on the learning curve ~ Andrea