Feelings About school...positive Anyone?

I am with you on this! Today was my daughters Last First Day of school! She is a Senior this year and I am just as excited as she is for this final phase of high school. I am very eager for all of the Senior activities that come with this year!

I was one of the sad Kinder moms last week. I am finally starting to feel comfy with her being gone all day. I had a great conversation with her teacher last night, and the teacher really likes DD & says she is a great student, so far. I know it will be a great thing for her, in every way possible, and luckily I got a part time job outside of the home to keep me busy while she's at school. So, now we BOTH get to do something that's good for us. I'm pretty happy :-) The only think I'm not fond of is the class size, it's not AWFUL, but it still seems like a lot. Until I can afford private school, this is how it's got to be, so I'm rolling with it.

I think I know what you mean. I look at my son, his natural curiosity and thirst for knowledge about everything--and I think--he NEEDS school! We've had very positive experiences with teachers, etc (He's only going into Grade 3) but overall, I think school has been a POSITIVE force in my son's life thus far, and I look forward to him being more and more challenged over the years!

Hi mamazita-

I am with you!! My high school kiddos started school last wednesday...and I dropped my eldest 'at home' son off to college this weekend (five hours away).

I am feeling a little 'blue' and lonely as I am working myself 'out of a job'...lol (but THAT was the point...yes?)

I have been subbing for a while in the school system...and shortly the phone will start ringing...I have enjoyed the sub teaching...and by and large have enjoyed working with the students...I especially LOVE middle school with the diverse spectrum of students!

Any way, my children and I are all 'products' of public education...(all college kiddos went to or are in state schools)...

I think it is up to the individual to make the most of their experiences...whatever they may be!!

Best Luck!
Michele/cat

TOTALLY relate. Can't really add anything to it except that it's so exciting to watch your kids bloom and develop confidence, friends, and navigate the "world" without you hovering over every little thing. I think it's so exciting! And I have great memories of school. Blech stuff happened, but we learned to deal or avoid it next time. I loved school!!! (And yeah---hated math. LOVED everything else until physics).

I'm on both sides of this. I truly love having my kids home in the summer. I love being able to spend time and see them all day and let them be in their pjs all day if they want to. I work at home, so I'm still busy, but at least we get some time together. The hustle and bustle of school wears me out.

But I do love hearing about what they did in school, what they learned who they made friends with, what challenges they had. Watching them grow and change is one of the most interesting processes. Their excitement, curiosity, enthusiasm makes me happy for them!

I wish we could have school 3 days a week!

I know what you mean... so many people I know have been making comments recently like "*sob! My baby is off to school" and the like... makes me feel terrible, since I have been counting down the minutes for school to start. Seems like it is the same every summer... we have a great time, go on outings, enjoy each other's company, and then it turns on a dime sometime in late July and suddenly the kids are bickering, I am on their nerves, they are driving me nuts.... So, yes, I am thrilled to have the kids back in school. I am so excited because I will FINALLY have some time to myself. I still have a 3 year old at home, but I can afford to drop her off at the gym daycare for an hour a day while I go work out. That hour is going to be invaluable to my sanity. And the kids will get to meet some new kids, which they are so excited about.

I was excited to send my kids off to school this morning! I love that they get to have new experiences even thou I know that not all of them will be good. In fact, my oldest already had a not very good experience concerning school this year. He's a junior in high school and he didn't make it onto the varsity swim team. He was devastated! This past weekend was h*** o* him. I hope getting back to school and his friends helps! So far (knock on wood) we have not had any really bad experiences with our children's schooling. I hope that continues!

Hi mamazita:
No, you're not the only one - I'm happy for my kids to be starting school again this week, and *they're* happy too. Sadly, I think part of the reason there are so many negative school questions is that so many schools are overenrolled and underfunded, so many teachers are overburdened and underpaid/underappreciated, and so many students underprepared and often lacking in support at home. In addition to volunteering at my kids' school, I've been volunteering at one of the Oakland public school libraries for the past 5 years and the contrast between the teacher morale and overall student readiness is striking and often sad (during standardized testing week last May, the librarian told me of one student who was dropped off late for school and sadly told her that his parents didn't know what time school started)

IMO, if more families could send their kids to school where the parent population and city/community pitched in as much volunteer time and donations as ours does, there'd be more positive posts about the beginning of the school year. My kids have had awesome teachers who have nurtured their creativity, successfully engaged kids with a wide variety of learning styles in the classroom, and fostered an atmosphere where kids actually seem to be enjoying learning and "nerdy" kids like mine aren't looked at as "uncool" or teased like I was. But sadly, I know this is not as common as it ought to be.

I understand both sides, I guess. When my 1st went off to kindergarten for the 1st time, I was excited, but I cried after I dropped him off. He'd never been away from me for so long before. I didn't cry when my 2nd or 3rd went to kindergarten for the 1st time- because I'd had experience with that already I guess.

Today he started his 1st day of middle school, and I am soooo excited for him. I'm also a little nervous because it's a new school and he only knows 1 boy (I didn't cry though-lol). It's an excellent school though, and I'm so excited about the new opportunities he will have- all the subjects he had before, but with more technology, art, music, and even drama.

So I guess it's the transition years with my 1st that cause me some anxiety. Other than that, I really do enjoy the start of a new school year :)

Even though we homeschool now, I'm still happy when I read about people who have great experiences in school. After all, our tax dollars are paying for it!

My motto is "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." If traditional school works well for your child then that's great. I'm also grateful that we live in a country where homeschooling is legal, and even celebrated in certain jurisdictions (it's not legal in all countries). Different strokes . . .

Hope you guys have a great and learning-filled school year!

Great post! Love that my kiddos are off to a new adventure, a new year of learninig and growing into the person they are to become.
As parents our job is to raise our children to WANT to be independent and I think school is a great helper in that process.
I am amazed and what the boys come home knowing and sharing and that level of joy and accomplishment on their faces outweighs any pangs of parental regret of another year passing - LOL!

I will openly admit that the first day of school is my FAVORITE day of the year! Not because I get to ship my son out the door, not because I am "free" (I work full time), but because of the sheer anticipation and excitement of the children who get off the bus that morning at my school.

The vast majority of them are so excited to get into their classroom, find their cubby and desk, see who is in their class and check out what this grade level is going to bring!

You're not the only one and frankly I'm a little tired of all of the school and teacher basing on this site already... the year has hardly started in most places and not at all in others! It's not as easy as people think- but most of us love every minute of it. My students make me laugh, some of them make me cry and some of them stay with me forever.

Happy School Year everyone!

My son's public school is great! I work in a public school and see how great it is for kids to visit the gym, library, art room, music room every week. My school has a science lab for K-5 My son's school doesn't, but they have a computer teacher and a nature expert volunteer to take them outside and into the school garden. Schools have various assemblies and family events to enrich their education. I am getting my Master's in Education and reading a lot of research about how children learn the most by interacting with their peers! So, Yes, We can be delighted our children are going back to such a stimulating environment! Unless your kids are being bullied and threatened at school how could it not enrich their days? But yes I'm also sad about the end of summer, (when I take the whole time to be a full time Mom and do some traveling with my L.O.)

My kids are on their last week of summer break and I can't wait! One more week of torture..lol I will have a clean house and the food will last a little bit longer. I will get alone time with my 16 month old too. My kids are getting bored and fighting a lot these last couple of weeks so that is why it has been torturous for me,I am tired of playing referee I want to be their mom that is excited to see them out of bed and WANTS to do stuff with them again.
On the other hand I am sad they are growing up. My oldest goes to fourth grade(and is too pumped to be the oldest in the school) wich means he will be in middle school pretty soon and that makes me sad. My middle will be in first grade so he will be learning all kinds of things so I anticipate many homework battles with him. In K he fought me all week to do his one page of math sooo I know first grade has more so these arguments will make me sad. I am more happy then sad though!

If you're in the minority, I'm right there with you! Not that I like how quickly time is passing, but my daughter is right where she's supposed to be and it does make me feel like I'm doing a good job as a mom.

I completely agree with you.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPIIMbG9R4w

I'm still early in the whole process, but my daughter just turned 4, did 3 yo preschool last year and will be in 4 yo preschool this year. I CAN'T WAIT for it to start - but it's not for another 4 weeks! She loved school last year and she can't wait either! She is such a busy-body and a social butterfly that it's really hard for me to keep her totally happy and occupied at home. She'll be there 3 hours in the morning, 4 mornings a week and I am really hoping it will finally give me the time I need to myself to get more done around the house, get errands done, as well as some more me time just for ME. And she'll be happy making new friends and having fun doing all the fun stuff they get to do in preschool, and learning new things along the way.

I'm a mom that jumps for joy when the kids all head back to school. Partly for selfish reasons and partly because I know the kids are going to learn some things that I can't necessarily teach them.
I have 4 kids. I kept telling myself that when my oldest went to college I wasn't going to be sad and cry and all that. And I wasn't...until after I was back home and realized that there really was one less person in the house. It totally changed the family dynamic. I cried at the most random times those first two weeks....it really caught me off guard.
I now have a second HS graduate and one more in HS and another in middle school.
I've almost always been a mom who has made sure to have interests outside of being a mom (and wife). As much as I love my kids I can't make my entire world revolve around them 24/7. I've seen what has happened to some mom's I know that didn't know how to be anything else so when all their kids were gone they were the most sad people I know.
As excited as I get when the kids start school (my boys are in their second week this year) I do miss saying good-bye to summer when summer technically isn't over yet (After 10 years I'm still trying to adjust to school starting in August-it just isn't right).
Really though, all along I've known it's my job to raise independent, self-sufficient kids (that's why they've all been doing chores since they were 5). But kids that know where home will always be and that I'm always gonna be their mom and that if they EVER need me I'm gonna be there for them.

Our entire family is happy to be back to our regular schedule.

I can relate to your comments. I always enjoyed school myself and I agree that education has improved for my two sons, who are now in college. Yes, the schools have big financial problems and we, as citizens, should be supporting them to a greater degree which will benefit our society and our economy. Still, my kids got a great public school education and ended up at top colleges. I think that my constant support of their schools through parent involvement and serving on committees, boards, and fundraisers gave them the message that I was behind them and their schools 100%, even as I worked full-time outside the home. I hope people will not get discouraged and give up on their schools. I wish I had the opportunity to go back to school. What a great time in life! So full of possibilities.

Thank you for your fresh perspective!

I am totally the mom that celebrates the day her kids go back to school. Maybe I'll cry when they leave for college...but I doubt it lol! I love watching them become independent and learning to navigate the world without me attached to them!