The Night Before We Go Back To School

I have been off with my kids since the second week of March due to COVID close downs. Originally we thought it would be a short time and eventually we found out that schools would not be opening again. I went back to work 2-3 days a week at the preschool I work in May as a Director of the school instead of a teacher.  The kids had hours of school work and eventually in the summer chores. We couldn’t go anywhere due to everything being closed so we basically spent the days together. I loved it. I will never have enough time with them. 

The Summer was a hot mess. My daughter waking up anywhere from 12-2:30 and my son playing video games all day in between doing chores. We sat down to read like we do every Summer but neither were into it. 

I read a lot, did some journaling, practiced drawing and tried not to waste the days by sitting in front of the TV with my daughter. It is so easy to do that! We like a lot of the same You Tubers.  My daughter managed some sleepovers with her bestie. They are friends since the age of 3. They were in the same preschool. I also took one of her “guy” friends over a few times. I like hanging out with him too. He is a comedian. My face hurts from laughing when I bring him home. My son hasn’t seen anyone except for us and the neighbors as well as his Abuela’s on the one day we visited them and he seems fine with it.  

It is the weirdest thing to me that both kids would have been okay if they had not seen friends since March. I have been hearing this from many friends who also say that their kids just aren’t looking for their friends and their friends aren’t looking for them. In the age of electronics, these kids have grown up being able to talk to their friends without Actually being with them. There’s Snapchat, Instagram, Texting, Online Gaming and more. They are talking to them, just not in the same room. So I guess I get it but I don’t!

It is worrisome that they are truly okay being solitary. I am a loner so while I get it, I do enjoy getting together with friends. If this had happened when I was a kid, I would have been so depressed. No computer, no smart phone, no cable. Just the same 12 Channels, none of them came in great and a staticky radio. I would have run out of books the first two weeks and my sisters and I would have killed each other.  We would have however been in the best shape of our lives because we would have been biking every day from morning till night when our parents got home. 

Getting the kids back on a schedule is going to be crazy. My husband and I just talked about it. They are going to have to shut the electronics down by 9 and be in bed by 10 and however long it takes you to sleep that is how long it takes. Spend some time thinking! 

While I prepare them, I know that my preschool parents are preparing their toddlers to spend the day with me. I need to be rested and ready to get a bunch of kids who have been unscheduled for months, back on a schedule that works with a classroom of 10 - 2-3 year olds. Should be interesting. We will spend the first day learning the rules of the classroom, the importance of hand washing, how to stand in a line as well as do a few first day projects for the parents benefit. I can’t wait to get started. 

I wish my kids the very best first day as well as anyone else going back to school whether you are student, teacher, or a parent having to let your little one go for the first time in months. It will be challenging. Expect it but know that they will be great! They need to be in school. School is essential and if we all do the right thing and follow the rules, regulations and guidelines set in place we will all be okay. 

Are you Ready!? Me Either!!