August 18, 2008

The First Day of School

We just finished our geometry lesson. I know…an auspicious way to start a blog, but it's the truth. As John Paul sits here working on his math lesson, I suddenly realize that I only have three more first days of school with him! While that might be a relief to some moms, I want to cry. Where did the time go? How can he already be in high school? I am actually doing geometry with JP this year for two reasons: I didn't like it in high school and didn't retain any of the information, so I have to do it again in case he needs help with lessons and the writers of Teaching Textbooks note that it improves logical reasoning skills. Well, who couldn't use more logical reasoning skills? Last year, JP did most of his school on his own, short of the writing class I taught, and I have a feeling that no matter what subjects he took this year, I would've found a way to do them with him. I think he senses my neediness because rather than running off to his desk, which is typical, he stayed at the table to work. Okay…he is listening to his IPOD, but still, it's something.

Dana and I occasionally mention Epi Kardia projects and ideas that will be accomplished once our boys graduate. At the time, it sounds fun and exciting, but when it comes down to it, I have home schooled for so many years, I can't imagine not spending summers planning and setting schedules for the coming school year. Warning to all of my friends who have younger children: I may be popping in to "help out" in a few years.

I've heard many moms talk about special traditions for the first day or the first week of school and when my children were younger, we did plenty of fun stuff to get us psyched for the work to come. Now that it's just JP and me, I realize that he sees the first day of school as an end to summer freedom and I see it as one more step to sending him off to college. Not very positive, huh? So, last night, after church, JP and I stopped by the grocery store because I told him he could choose any breakfast he wanted for day one of his freshman year. I was a little surprised when I heard the word "pizza" come out of his mouth. Really? Really. I was putting a pepperoni pizza in the oven at 8 am this morning. It can't be worse than sugar laden cereal, I guess, and he sure seemed to enjoy it.

Being home schoolers, we all tend to enjoy the first day of school in unique ways. Some moms go all out while others jump right into lessons. A few ideas that have been suggested in the past include:

take photos of your children with "first day of school" and grade sign. One mom uses a "first day of not going to school" sign.
new pajamas to hang out in all day.
backpack filled with new school books and supplies.
set up calendar, looking ahead at the new school year and all of the exciting service projects, field trips, etc. to come.
holding school in a special location: at the beach, a park, etc.
if your children haven't applied for their own library cards, the first day of school may be a memorable time to let them do so. In some families, getting a library card is a "rite of passage" idea with the children having to reach a certain age or level of responsiblity.

I tend to be pragmatic. I made a schedule and I like to stay on it. Many home schoolers are much more flexible. Whether you're more like me or less anal, we'd love to hear your first day of school ideas! Do you have any special traditions? What are some of your most memorable first days of school? We'd love to hear from you and share your ideas with other families.

Whether you're back to school yet or not, I've prayed for all who read this that God will bless your time with your children, bringing your families great blessings this year!

In Christ,

Beth