Day 65: New Year, New Habits

There is only one thing on my mind as I write my post this morning. The New School Year. Part of me is looking forward to it – returning to the normal ebb and flow of the school calendar. The other part of me is just praying that all the new things we have begun at home don’t get sideswiped by the school experience. (And praying that Vic has a good year!)

Today I am pleased to report the new habits my kids have sworn to, some of their own free will, but all with an open mind and pleasant attitude. (This is a WOW moment, folks!)

1) Victoria vows to make A’s. I do not insist on A’s…I insist on honest effort, and let the grade be what it will. My questions to the kids when they bring home their report card are 1) Did you do your best? and 2) Did you learn something new? To me, that pretty much sums up the student’s and the teacher’s purpose for being there. But Vic's enthusiasm for the school year is quite refreshing.

2) Victoria will take her lunch this school year. Vic is a school-lunch kid…always has been. And for $1.50 I couldn’t complain, at least until I found out that she was spending $1.50 every day and just eating the roll. Whaaaaa???? She has offered this year to start taking her own lunch each day because, as she puts it, “The cafeteria food might have bad ingredients in it.” Jamie Oliver made an impact on us, I tell ya!

3) Both kids are accepting of the mandate that they are old enough now to make their own sandwiches. I bought them the Sandwich Thins so they don’t have to fiddle with cutting off the crust. (When do they outgrow that, by the way?  Just curious.)

4) Both kids got their backpacks ready last night and hung them on the wall. Pencils sharpened, grade-level appropriate book packed for free-time reading, new pink pearl eraser tucked neatly into the pencil pocket. I think I love school supplies almost as much as I love office supplies. Eeep!

5) Both lunchboxes are sitting on my countertop right now, packed with Natural Cheetos, organic gummy bears (well, ok…rabbits) and their BPA-free water bottles. Sandwich boxes are ready to hold the entrée. The kids were troopers about setting everything out last night to save us time in the morning.

6) Uniforms were selected and laid out neatly. (We found Aaron’s belt - abandoned all summer long - with relative ease. That’s pretty major for us.)

7) Both kids are prepared – at least for the moment – to tackle the extra assignments (Accelerated Reading and Math) within the first six weeks of each nine weeks for the reward of a friend sleeping over each quarter. The bribe – that’s all me, baby!!!! I believe it will keep our stress to a minimum if those extra things are out of the way before report card time winds around. And at least this time, I’ve bribed them with play dates and sleep overs. Remember, Marsha Mallow is the result of an AC Math reward from last year. Perhaps I’m getting a little smarter as we go along?

So there it is in a nutshell. Yes, I am prepared to let it go if these things are not checked off military style. My vow for the school year is to gently guide them at home, hold to the routine as much as possible, and make sure everyone eats and sleeps well. Oh, and NOT flip my lid if this doesn’t go as planned. ;)

Happy First Day of School!!!