@@ Back to school

[wanderingback]

One more bonus - my full time job is Mon-Thurs. So on Fridays I’m usually off and do sometimes have meetings for my consulting work, but that’s flexible. So I’m very excited that me and my partner can have date day Fridays while she’s at daycare!

[lo]

I go back teaching after Labor Day and my kids are the same. DD1 is starting a new public school for 4th after being at the same Montessori school since she was 1, so she’s nervous but psyched. She’s excited to ride the bus and I’m not so excited about it since all sorts of disturbing stuff happened on the bus when I was a kid, but hopefully times have changed!

My district has Yom Kippur off for the first time ever so I’m excited to have a day off in Sept (I’m not Jewish and 3/4 of my kids will still be in school that day).

[dcn]

My kids went back last week! Ds1 is in 5th grade, at the intermediate school and it’s an adjustment. He rides the bus instead of walking, they switch classes, he has a locker. He’ll get there but he came home the first day and said “mom everything is so complicated!”

Ds2 is in 2nd grade and he’s rocking it. He’s liking his teacher and is making new friends. So far so good!

I’m glad to have a routine and some time to myself again!

[scm1011]

Aug 15, 2023 12:01:49 GMT -5 wanderingback said:

One more bonus - my full time job is Mon-Thurs. So on Fridays I’m usually off and do sometimes have meetings for my consulting work, but that’s flexible. So I’m very excited that me and my partner can have date day Fridays while she’s at daycare!

I have summer Fridays and DH only works M-Th in the summer so we do pre-daycare pick-up happy hour ever Friday. Its the best!

[formerlyak]

Aug 15, 2023 12:01:49 GMT -5 wanderingback said:

One more bonus - my full time job is Mon-Thurs. So on Fridays I’m usually off and do sometimes have meetings for my consulting work, but that’s flexible. So I’m very excited that me and my partner can have date day Fridays while she’s at daycare!

I work from home and my DH works a 9/80 so we do lunch dates. I love it!

[pixy0stix]

Aug 15, 2023 12:01:49 GMT -5 wanderingback said:

One more bonus - my full time job is Mon-Thurs. So on Fridays I’m usually off and do sometimes have meetings for my consulting work, but that’s flexible. So I’m very excited that me and my partner can have date day Fridays while she’s at daycare!

My schedule is M-Th and I kept DS in daycare. It's phenomenal. That being said, just be careful that you don't start cramming all your errands into Friday, because you'll find yourself just constantly running on Fridays. It does make the weekends nice, though.

[heygrey]

We don't start until 9/5, but I am really really hoping for a better year for both DS and myself.

DS attended an elementary school that closed at the end of the 21/22 school year and the student body was divided between 3 different campuses. The administration at his new school was pretty cold and unwelcoming to the new students and the district did a really poor job of supporting integration. I tried to reach out a few times about specific issues and was completely dismissed. He had a teacher that is known for being pretty checked out and doing the bare minimum so it was just a really crappy grade 3 experience. This year he *should* have a great teacher. He is in French Immersion and there is only one teacher for grades 4/5 at his school so unless something major has changed, he'll have her for the next 2 years.

I work at another elementary school and last year nearly broke me. I wanted to quit every day. Our administration was a hot mess and our district was really unresponsive to the specific issues we faced. At the end of the school year, our previous principal was reassigned to a vice-principal position elsewhere and we have a new principal this coming year. This will be the 5th principal I've worked under in 8 years!! It's been a huge blow to our school culture and staff community to endure so many changes, especially with Covid thrown in there. This new admin comes with a glowing reputation which wasn't true of the last 3, so hopefully we'll have a better year??? I am currently assigned to support a grade 3 classroom and it's with my absolutely favourite teacher of all time. So even if everything else sucks I know she and I will create our own little world inside the classroom and we can ignore everything else.

[wanderingback]

Aug 15, 2023 14:30:00 GMT -5 pixy0stix said:

Aug 15, 2023 12:01:49 GMT -5 wanderingback said:

One more bonus - my full time job is Mon-Thurs. So on Fridays I’m usually off and do sometimes have meetings for my consulting work, but that’s flexible. So I’m very excited that me and my partner can have date day Fridays while she’s at daycare!

My schedule is M-Th and I kept DS in daycare. It's phenomenal. That being said, just be careful that you don't start cramming all your errands into Friday, because you'll find yourself just constantly running on Fridays. It does make the weekends nice, though.

I think I must not be adulting the same as everyone cause I don’t feel like I have a lot of errands. I think maybe cause I live in the city so on our evening walks I’ll stop around the corner to pick up anything we need. My partner does all the cooking so that certainly helps! So hopefully Friday errands won’t become a thing Thanks for the warning!

[pixy0stix]

Aug 15, 2023 15:30:29 GMT -5 wanderingback said:

Aug 15, 2023 14:30:00 GMT -5 pixy0stix said:

My schedule is M-Th and I kept DS in daycare. It's phenomenal. That being said, just be careful that you don't start cramming all your errands into Friday, because you'll find yourself just constantly running on Fridays. It does make the weekends nice, though.

I think I must not be adulting the same as everyone cause I don’t feel like I have a lot of errands. I think maybe cause I live in the city so on our evening walks I’ll stop around the corner to pick up anything we need. My partner does all the cooking so that certainly helps! So hopefully Friday errands won’t become a thing Thanks for the warning!

I'm going to be the annoying "just you wait until your kid gets older" person here. LOL! You think something will take 5 min and next thing you know you've been walking 30 min to your destination and still haven't reached the store yet.

[Deleted]

Add me to the list of people with rising 4th graders. C starts in two weeks. H teaches at the same school (5th) and he goes back in two days.

All supplies have been bought. C didn’t want a new backpack or lunch box. We had to buy a lot of supplies for H’s classroom too. I know it’s a big pain to buy communal supplies like tissues, Clorox wipes, snacks, etc, but the teachers really do appreciate it.

We don’t know which class C will be in, and he’s nervous he won’t be with his friends. We also just found out a few days ago that the girl who bullied him all year, and was removed from school in early April (not sure if she was removed by her parents or if she was expelled) is coming back to the school this year, and we are really hoping she isn’t in C’s class. She literally tried to strangle him with a metal water bottle. We’re all a bit nervous about how this is going to play out.

[katfco]

The teacher did not hear, but DD took care of it. She told him she’d hit him if he did, and his friend backed her up.

[nsl]

I started year 18 in secondary ed today! Next week all the kids come back, including both of mine. Kid 1 is going into 10th and had some school drama over the last few days regarding their schedule, but things mostly seem to be worked out in a way that's acceptable to everyone. DS 2 (7th) also has a schedule issue--he was assigned to a Humanities teacher I hated so much when he taught Kid 1 I had a full meeting with the principal over his fuckery when Kid 1 was in 7th grade--but the new principal was very receptive when I explained why I wanted DS moved, and I'm optimistic that his schedule won't be too screwed up with the change.

That said, I am EXHAUSTED. starting a new year is always tiring, and it's mind boggling how much work goes into opening a school library. Last year I had my aide helping me during the pre-planning week, but they won't give her the hours this year so I'm doing it all myself in between meetings. Definitely going to bed early tonight.

[hermione]

C starts 5th grade a week from tomorrow. She is a little sad that most of her friends are in the other class but excited to go back and try out for volleyball.

[nellgirl]

We start back after Labour Day. My DD is heading into Grade 2, and I’m teaching (likely) Grade 5/6. It will be my 21st year of teaching and 14th at this school. Last year was hard. We have a great admin, but we’re just so understaffed. We had zero para support for kids over K, so I was scrambling trying to be everything to everyone and feeling like I was failing all of the kids. Plus, my work bestie was off on medical leave for most of last year, and will be for most of this year, too.
My DD is really looking forward to Grade 2. She’s nervous about who she’ll get as a teacher and we’re hoping to have her separated from a couple of kids, but I’m hoping it’s a good year for her!

[estrellita]

E is in 3rd grade this year. I was happy the school was able to get him and his best friend in the same class! Surprisingly they seem to have better behavior together so we requested that they be together.

A starts kindergarten this year. I'm happy to not pay daycare anymore and need to drive after work to pick her up (we kept her in her daycare when we started WFH because we weren't sure if we were going back, so it was a 30ish mile round trip for us twice a day). I'm nervous for her though. She has frequent #2 "accidents" (not always an accident as she purposely goes and hides). We were working with a therapist who was stumped. And she works with kids that have severe issues with it. So I'm concerned about it happening at school. I was hoping we'd have it figured out, but school starts in less than 3 weeks 😫 Other than that, I know she's excited!

[eddy]

We start next week.

DS1 is a sophmore and we are enjoying the sweet sweet relief of not going through a school transition this year. He already knows the drill in sports, academics and band. He is going to be extremely busy this fall and is taking an even more challenging class load. But he normally suprises us so let's see what sophmore year has in store.

DS2 is a 6th grader so last year of elementary. I am having some feelings about that. I am not ready for him to grow up quite yet. On the other hand I am generally over the elementary nonesense. Poor 2nd child, your parents are over your life events even before you are lol. This is the first year of not doing after school care. So this is the year of him learning some independence like walking home from school, taking care of himself for an hour after school etc. I think because he is the youngest and covid, I have not started forcing this transition on him quick enough. AKA I have babied him more. So that starts to change this year.

I am begrungengly ready I guess. The oldest has been in band or XC practice 6 days a week since the beginning of August so we have already lost our autonomy of the summer. Might as well just get on with it. 

[osulori]

I just dropped Kid #1 off for his last "first day" of elementary school-5th grade! His teacher is new to the school and seems to be relatively new to teaching but we met her at open house on Monday and she seems great. He's got a decent number of friends in his class but none of the known troublemakers which is good-we spent a lot of time this summer working on "just because so and so is doing it doesn't mean it's okay".

Kid #2 starts preschool at the end of this month, and has "Meet the Teacher" next week. She has the same teacher Kid #1 had 6 years ago so that's awesome, I just hope preschool is ready for our teeny tornado

[osulori]

litebright, can you hand over one full "area" (for lack of a better term) or a couple smaller ones to your husband for him to handle? Like, one whole kid's stuff (appointments, sports, school) or a category like sports and/or appointments for both? My husband and I were just talking about this last night-kid #2 starts preschool and her first forays into activities (PreK rec soccer) in a couple weeks and that will be easy enough to manage on top of Kid #1's stuff but eventually we're going to have to look at a clearer "divide and conquer" plan and what that might look like. We've made it work so far just rolling with it but with his work schedule such as it is we'll eventually need something different.

[formerlyak]

Today is our big day. And nothing screams “Back to School” in LA like a thunderstorm. What the heck? They are so rare here and we had thunder, lightening and rain at 3 am!

To everyone who had terrible years last year, here’s to a much better one!

To those starting new schools and daycares, you got this!

To those with kids who are juniors in high school, good luck. It’s a very pressure-filled year as the last year that “counts” before college apps.

To those starting the college app worth their kid, good luck. I hope your kids find their happy place.

And to those dropping kids off at college, enjoy every moment you have with them.

[Jalapeñomel]

D starts school on 9/5 and me on 8/30. He’ll be in 5th, which is kind of crazy.

I had a great year overall last year, summer was refreshing, but I’m ready to go back.

I have a horrible coworker that I’m dreading dealing with, and, as bad as it sounds, I hope they decide not to keep her on. She’s toxic as a coworker and a terrible teacher.




In case anyone is interested in donating to some GBCN classrooms, the post is pinned on ML!

[litebright]

Aug 16, 2023 7:17:01 GMT -5 osulori said:

litebright , can you hand over one full "area" (for lack of a better term) or a couple smaller ones to your husband for him to handle? Like, one whole kid's stuff (appointments, sports, school) or a category like sports and/or appointments for both? My husband and I were just talking about this last night-kid #2 starts preschool and her first forays into activities (PreK rec soccer) in a couple weeks and that will be easy enough to manage on top of Kid #1's stuff but eventually we're going to have to look at a clearer "divide and conquer" plan and what that might look like. We've made it work so far just rolling with it but with his work schedule such as it is we'll eventually need something different.

I'm working on it, I really am. Sometimes it feels impractical, though, because I WFH and most appointments are very close/local to home -- and he works 30 minutes away, so what takes me 15 minutes takes him an hour+ of back-and-forth driving. He's happy to jump in, but it tends to work best when we can schedule far enough in advance that appointments are early in the a.m. I've been squeezing all this stuff in last-minute, so I'm taking whatever appointments I can get. But I think I will hand off DD1's volleyball stuff to him, he took care of her pedi visit/sports physical & paperwork last year and he's taking her to her assessment/tryout anyway. And he's great at finding clothes and shoes for them online, so he's doing some of the BTS shopping. 

In two weeks I'll be OOT for work, so he'll have to handle everything during the two days I'm away, and I just scheduled an orthodontist follow-up that falls during a work trip in September, so he'll have to get DD2 to that. 

I do feel a lot better than earlier this week. I apologized to the improv instructor for missing & that was fine, and I haven't missed anything else. I had a meeting with my PTO and other people really are doing plenty, it's just that I am also doing a lot AND I work; several of them don't or are subs, so they aren't juggling quite as much. I managed to schedule two school spirit nights while my kids were getting their hair cut yesterday, and if I can land one more then I'm set until December. 

I have a meeting with our theatre director tonight and we'll get the entire fall play production schedule hammered out, and then I'll be able to take a bit more of a breath. And my house is getting cleaned this morning, which always feels miraculous. 

[wanderingback]

Aug 15, 2023 15:52:03 GMT -5 pixy0stix said:

Aug 15, 2023 15:30:29 GMT -5 wanderingback said:

I think I must not be adulting the same as everyone cause I don’t feel like I have a lot of errands. I think maybe cause I live in the city so on our evening walks I’ll stop around the corner to pick up anything we need. My partner does all the cooking so that certainly helps! So hopefully Friday errands won’t become a thing Thanks for the warning!

I'm going to be the annoying "just you wait until your kid gets older" person here. LOL! You think something will take 5 min and next thing you know you've been walking 30 min to your destination and still haven't reached the store yet.

I understand!
To be clear, I just meant in general, even before my daughter, I feel like people talking about running/doing errands all weekend has never resonated with me. Again maybe cause we live in the city and pick up things here and there? But it’s never like we spend all morning going to grocery store, Costco, Target, Home Depot, gas station, etc running errands. I just made that comment since you gave advice to not save up all your errands for Fridays

[scm1011]

Aug 16, 2023 7:09:47 GMT -5 osulori said:

I just dropped Kid #1 off for his last "first day" of elementary school-5th grade! His teacher is new to the school and seems to be relatively new to teaching but we met her at open house on Monday and she seems great. He's got a decent number of friends in his class but none of the known troublemakers which is good-we spent a lot of time this summer working on "just because so and so is doing it doesn't mean it's okay".

Kid #2 starts preschool at the end of this month, and has "Meet the Teacher" next week. She has the same teacher Kid #1 had 6 years ago so that's awesome, I just hope preschool is ready for our teeny tornado

Ah, hoping for the same for my DS! I was very close to requesting DS be put in a different class from a kid who has a history of roping my kid into bad behavior (obviously DS is culpable, but desperately wants to impress this boy and seems easily swayed by him). I'm anxiously awaiting class assignments to see how it shakes out (2 classrooms, so 50/50 shot lol). We've had similar conversations all summer, complete with topical books.

My baby lady also will have the same PK teacher that DS did - he's in for a surprise because she's a completely different animal!

[osulori]

Aug 16, 2023 8:33:12 GMT -5 scm1011 said:

Aug 16, 2023 7:09:47 GMT -5 osulori said:

I just dropped Kid #1 off for his last "first day" of elementary school-5th grade! His teacher is new to the school and seems to be relatively new to teaching but we met her at open house on Monday and she seems great. He's got a decent number of friends in his class but none of the known troublemakers which is good-we spent a lot of time this summer working on "just because so and so is doing it doesn't mean it's okay".

Kid #2 starts preschool at the end of this month, and has "Meet the Teacher" next week. She has the same teacher Kid #1 had 6 years ago so that's awesome, I just hope preschool is ready for our teeny tornado

Ah, hoping for the same for my DS! I was very close to requesting DS be put in a different class from a kid who has a history of roping my kid into bad behavior (obviously DS is culpable, but desperately wants to impress this boy and seems easily swayed by him). I'm anxiously awaiting class assignments to see how it shakes out (2 classrooms, so 50/50 shot lol). We've had similar conversations all summer, complete with topical books.

My baby lady also will have the same PK teacher that DS did - he's in for a surprise because she's a completely different animal!

Yuuup!  This is 100% kid #1.  We've also started the talk about paying attention to how people he considers "friends" treat others-he's a kid who is generally friendly to everybody and doesn't always notice when someone doesn't treat other kids well. 

Re: the baby ladies-when I was filling out #2's preschool paperwork, I was asked to "describe" her in a few different ways on a few different forms.  By the end I basically said "Z is all the second kid stereotypes wrapped up in one angelic looking bundle.  DO NOT LET HER SWEET FACE FOOL YOU."

[taratru]

My youngest starts 7th grade on the 28th. This is the first year since I was a kindergartener that I haven't gone back to school in some form, so that's....weird.

[scm1011]

osulori, lol! I may steal that for when I have to fill out similar paperwork

[definitelyO]

today is DS's last first day... he's a senior! he got a great schedule with his first 2 periods off - so he starts at 10am. Bittersweet for me for sure.

[wanderingback]

Speaking of "just wait till your kid gets older"…when does the novelty of rushing home from work to see them at the end of the day dissipate?? I never stay late at work anymore lol.

[formerlyak]

Aug 16, 2023 15:55:47 GMT -5 wanderingback said:

Speaking of "just wait till your kid gets older"…when does the novelty of rushing home from work to see them at the end of the day dissipate?? I never stay late at work anymore lol.

When they are so involved with things they get home even later than you do. Some nights I’m in bed half asleep by the time my high schooler gets home from work.