These early days of school are famous for a reason. There are a million things to cover, a million things to buy and schedule and create and plan for.
My toddler is starting at her new outdoor school. I need to get her some anti-tick gear, make an “all about me” book, focus on her transition to school emotionally (this is her fourth major transition in 8 months..), have a plan for packing lunch, make sure we can get out the door on time, get her used to her new after-school babysitter.. And, and, and.
I feel like these weeks before school are set up for us to fail.
We want our kids to do well…
… to feel confident going into second grade as strong readers
… to know that they can make mistakes and still get ahead in school
… to finish that huge homework packet inexplicably sent home over the summer
… to eat a healthy lunch.
… to be more independent.
… to be successful at their sports.
And so, armed with this intention, we seek to get it all done in these early days of school.
To have everything completed and neat and have the routines down and the lunch schedule known and the homework planned for.
We also feel this pressure externally. School has asked us to make sure our kid reads for 15 minutes a day! And to make that “all about me” book. And to show up at back to school night. And to create a hello and goodbye routine.
To make sure our kids are successful in school.. I’d like to challenge all of us to pick one.
Maybe your focus this year is your child’s academics. Then, maybe we let go of a very healthy lunch each day, or being on time for soccer practice.
Maybe your focus this year is to build up more independence. Then, maybe we let go of having all the homework completed, or wearing a matching outfit before school.
For me, my focus is on helping her independence, and easing this transition. So, we are practicing our “goodbye” before school. We are looking at pictures of her school and reading books about missing mama. I’m letting her get herself dressed in the mornings, adding about 15 minutes to our morning, but saving us time in the long run.
Meanwhile, her all-about-me book won’t be ready on the first day of school, even though it should be. We don’t have a plan for her lunches, and will wing it in these early days. We don’t have the outdoor gear and her new babysitter will be faking it until she makes it!
Because, if we focus on everything, nothing gets done well.
In knowing what we’re focused on this month, we can let go of a lot of the filler that distracts from our main goal.
Curious- what’s your main goal for these early days of school? What will you sacrifice to get it done?
