back-to-school jitters

Hello everybody! Today marks the first day of school. I am sure some of you are probably wishing it’s still summer and that you could ‘ve stayed in bed just a little bit longer this morning. Yup, it’s hard to imagine that summer is over, sleeping-in is over, no more late-nights and definitely, long-days has come to an end.

I don’t know about other moms out there, but I am having a little bit of a back-to-school jitters too…mixed emotions though. Both relieved and worried? But I know I’ll be fine after couple of days, once my kids and I have settled and back on our good-old-normal-school-days routines. Anyways, I only sense some tummy butterflies when I think of the to-do list and some back-to-school challenges such as these – who wouldn’t be?

breakfast preparations
pack lunches (ideas, ideas, ideas!!!)
bathroom competition
missing socks,
forgotten planners
gym days
laying out clothes the night before
homeworks, homeworks & homeworks
newsletters, announcements, schedules
science projects
term papers
school choir
Christmas plays
field trips,
parent-teacher conferences
bullying & other performance concerns
recitals
winter blues /snow episodes
clutters, clutters, & clutters
papers, papers & papers!!!
the list goes on and on…whew!!!

But you know what? In spite of these back-to school anxiety, I am also looking forward to another full 10-months of new learning process for my children. I am glad that they are ready to take on new challenges and take it to the next level. Homework, researches, home reading, journals, spellings & math problems & quizzes you name it…They can be tough and sometimes tedious tasks to do you know, and not only for our children but for us too. But hey my fractions skills is refreshed! True, some school activities can be bit over the top and it’s tough on our part especially when we moms, have loads and tons of other chores to do on top of our full time jobs, not to mention a basket of clothes to iron or stacks of papers waiting to be filed away!

But on a positive note, homework and school projects really is a key part of a child’s education. It’s there to help students remember and understand more of the school work. They develop study skills that they will use after graduating high school and later on foster into independence, responsibility and time-management skills.

I can hardly believe that my son is a Sixth Grader now and my daughter is in Grade 4. It only seemed like yesterday when they were just in kindergarten. Anyways, last night as my kids and I bid our goodnights and said our prayers, they shared me their excitements and jitters too. They expressed their expectations, hopes and goals for this school year. I am touched because theirs’ were so simple, honest and pure. If their young minds can set some simple goals and raise their bars higher, why can’t I? Their honest to goodness goals motivate me to make this school term a more meaningful, less stress, more easier, more enjoyable, plenty of educational and fun stuffs activities and lots of interesting learning experiences for both kids and parents.

Bottom line is -- Education is a key tool for any children’s bright future. And no matter what my children want to do with their lives — I guarantee that they will need a good education (coupled with strong faith and values) to do it. They’ve got to work for it and train for it and learn for it. And I promise them from the bottom of my heart that their ‘dear mother’ will be there to support them in every step of the way.