How can you help Moms and Children Embrace that all Important first day of school?
When September rolls around and the children of the neighborhood are all trying to get ready for Back to School, you can feel the excitement, enthusiasm and anxiety of all the participants.
Now you might say, “ANXIETY”, why would anyone feel that?
Not everyone is ready to cut the ties to home, on that first day, but there are things that you can do to make that break easier for your child and really for you as well. I remember well, that first day when my children went to school. I could see the excitement in their eyes, but I could also read the hesitation in the way they walked towards that new big building. We spent days before hand reading about going to school and what that would mean and look like to them. Here are just a few of the stories that helped my kids.
First Day Jitters (Mrs. Hartwells classroom adventures)
Curious George’s First Day of SchoolFirst Day of SchoolThe Berenstain Bears Go To School (Deluxe Edition) (First Time Books(R))School’s First Day of SchoolAmelia Bedelia’s First Day of SchoolThe Night Before Preschool
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What’s a Mom to do with her new found free time?
Now for the Mom’s who have taken their little ones to school for the first day, there is a special way to deal with any anxiety or discomfort you might have with your little ones gone all day. It just might be a time for a nice warm soak in a tub, without fretting that someone will come knocking on your door screaming, “Mom!” Or how about a quiet time to read that novel that you have been dying to get your eyes on? a nice gathering of other “like minded” moms for a nice Coffee Klatch, or a new Hobby to fill in those hours of quiet peacefulness! One thing is certain, it won’t take too long before everyone will be enjoying a new routine, learning new things everyday, making new friends and just enjoying a New Normal for the next 9 months! Moms will get to know other moms and the kids will come home with a new list of all their best friends. Evening will find you all enjoying and reveling in the new experiences of the day.
FINDING HAPPINESS:THE STORY OF JOHN MILLER: A CHRISTIAN FICTIONNo Way Out (Jack Davis Thrillers Book 3)The Vanishing Game30 Pieces of Silver: An Extremely Controversial Historical Thriller (The Betrayed Series Book 1)Miracle ManStone Cold (The Alex Stone Thriller Series Book 2)BOOKS:THE HEALING MIRACLE PRAYER:Spiritual:Religious:Inspirational:Prayer:Free:Bible:Verses:Top:100:NY:New:York:Times:On:Best:Sellers:List:In:Non:Fiction:2015:Free:Sale:Month:Releases:Miracle:forFantasy of Frost (The Tainted Accords Book 1)
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For some reason, I can’t remember my own first day of school experiences — maybe because they are so far back in time, back when there were no stories written to relieve the anxieties I might have had. I can’t even remember taking my children to school on their first days. The only real first day anxieties I remember were the first days of school when I would meet a new class as their teacher.
I do remember how precious those free hours were when the children started school. We had only had the children (who were then new foster children) for about two weeks, and going from a family of two to a family of four was a hard adjustment. I needed the emotional rest when they started school.
I think my daughter had the most anxieties about the first day of school, since it’s tougher for foster children in special education classes. She had already learned that school is where you are behind and people think you are dumb because you are in special ed. She was entering third grade when she came to us and I wish I could have kept her home for school. It might have made a lot of difference in her later life if I had.
Jason was eager for the chance to make new friends, so I don’t think he was anxious about anything except whether the other kids would like him. His eagerness off fast, since he found out how the other kids treated a foster child. I wonder if books like these might have raised his expectations too high for what would happen.
I did have more time to read again after the children started school, and I did appreciate that. I read many books similar to the ones you have listed here. When children know their parents read, it sets a great example and encourages them to read more themselves.
Oh Barbara, I hear you loud and clear. I think attitudes have changed somewhat to foster kids, but yes that would have been very hard both on them and on you. I know that my kids went to school that integrated special needs children with the regular kids and that my kids learnt a lot of empathy from that interaction. My son and his best friend when graduating high school, had his friend (a special needs student) in every picture taken with him. That made me very proud. Kids are taught to accept those different than they are and celebrate their differences. They were also taught in the school to look out for those who needed an extra bit of help, whether that was physical help or mental help. I found with my kids, that grade school was much harder than high school. Bullying was rampant and if your child didn’t fit the pattern deemed correct by the “IN” crowd, they could and did spend much time either at the principals office or dreading the next day.
Glad that at least you found more time to read. Hopefully the children you fostered, have become stronger adults for all their hardships.
I always hated the first week of school when my children were young. I missed them terribly! Frankly, I think it took until Halloween for me to say I had adjusted to their absence. Having books to prepare them, and reading material to take my mind off being alone, would certainly have been great suggestions.
Miss Cynthia, reading material and a nice glass of wine in the afternoon would have been a treat and certainly would have made you feel better. Having said that, I understand what you are saying. I missed my kiddies too when they finally went to school. It seems like time had sped up suddenly. Now it’s happening with my grandchildren….
I remember well those ‘first day of school’ feelings — for both child and mom.
You know Pat, I think everyone remembers their first day of school, it doesn’t matter how old you get. There is something really special about that feeling that never quite leaves us. As a mom, yes, I remember that feeling too, my heart was full of joy and tempered with just a hint of sadness. Childhood moves so quickly and we don’t see that until they are grown.
When I think of the first day of school, I think way back to my own first day each year. As much as I loved school, I was very shy and it usually took days before I’d say a word in class. I grew out of it (well, more or less) and now have mostly fond memories of my years in school.
Me too Susan, while I am extroverted most times, when that first day of school came around, I was as introverted as many of the other kids. Grade school was especially hard for me, in the years after the war when so many Europeans were arriving. I looked Italian, but wasn’t, so didn’t fit in there, my parents were Swiss, close enough to German to make people’s heads turn and yet I wasn’t that either…..I just did not fit in…..