Monday, July 27, 2009

First Day of School Jitters

Okay, so I'm not so jittery, but it dawned on me that my kids won't know that "first day of school" anticipation thing. I realized that I've been trained to have that little flutter of excitement about the first day of school, but they don't get it. Maybe I can make some traditions to help them look forward to it.

Today is that day. I'm going to be waking them up in just a few minutes, and my time will be over. I came to the realization this year that I am a full time teacher when we are in school. That was a shift for me. This year, instead of overseeing their education, I feel like I need to be in charge of it. This is a little backwards from what I thought it should be, but I realized we don't run like the smooth oiled machine I think we are (note a little sarcasm). I thought as they get older I would be more the overseer, but you can only do that if they've been trained to be responsible for it. That is definitely a goal this year. The older girls will have to learn to learn. I am the manager of this home, and I don't think I've been very active in that role.

I think I'm going to have to get up earlier too. Not surprising to me. I used to do that well, but have become lazy. Self discipline is hard for me too. Hmmm. Maybe a little mercy in that training is in order. It's hard to learn without a model.

I want to find order and organization and routine this year. Can that be mixed with fun and play and love? That will be my quest for balance this year. I see those homes that do that well, but I'm not sure how to do that.

Hopefully, this year (school year), I'll be able to keep up with this blog to help me document our progress and activity. It would be nice to be able to look back and it all be in one place. So here's to hopin' and first day jitters!