Back to School: A Mom’s Perspective

Well…the kids are back at school…
The house is quiet again, so on goes the music! Yes, I listen to music all day long. What I listen to depends on my mood. Sometimes it is the same few songs on a loop and other times, I select a huge playlist and am surprised all day long with new songs.

Music is a part of me; it is in my soul. I will admit that when the kids are home all summer, this Mama doesn’t get her fill of music and it is hard for me as it is like my therapy!

I digress….

Back to school….

This weekend was filled with mixed emotions. The kids were excited, happy, angry, stressed, worried, eager and more! We kept them busy, but also tried to give them some downtime to enjoy the outdoors at their leisure without ‘rules’. We kept them fairly active and despite the fact that my son wanted to nap yesterday afternoon, we wouldn’t let him because we knew if we did, he would struggle getting to sleep. Instead, both kids were fast asleep before 8:30 – SCORE!

The kids requested that I drive them to school this morning. One of the benefits of working at home (and for myself) is that I can take the time to do that for them. Both kids were excited and nervous and it is so difficult to watch them as their mixed emotions ran through them.

I was fine until I watched my son stand nervously in line with all of the grade two children. The look on his face was calling to me. I desperately wanted to run over to him and hug him. I wanted to do something for him, anything, but I knew that the best thing I could do as his Mom was to stand where I was and be there for him from afar. It took all of my power to hold myself back, but I did it and it felt good. It felt right.

My children don’t deal with change easily, so while we are getting back into routine which is good, there is a transition period in which they both struggle. Because of this, emotions and behaviours are not always in an ideal state and they occasionally need reminders to not take out their struggles on each other.

I saw this posted on Green Mommy’s Facebook Page and it spoke to me, so I decided to make my own to print off and post in our kitchen (the center of our home where everyone will see it).
Before You Speak THINK Printable

Click here to gain access to the printable size of this image for your home
(along with other FREE PRINTABLES!)

Here’s to hoping that this sign will help us all to think before we speak! Sometimes a visual reminder is a great help.

Off to get some work done and go chat in my Parent Support Group on Facebook (feel free to join us, we would love to have you!).

Wishing you a smooth transition into the school year!
What grade are your children in this year?

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13 Responses to Back to School: A Mom’s Perspective

  1. Dandi D says:

    My son is just a preschooler this year and we are doing it at home.

  2. Elva Roberts says:

    I remember the first days of school-that feeling in the pit of the stomach until the school bus arrived, and your children seemed happy with the teacher they had been given.

  3. elizamatt says:

    Thankfully my 7 are now all adults, whew that’s a weight off my shoulders for sure 🙂

  4. kristen visser says:

    my daughter goes to school next September! I love before you speak T.H.I.N.K ! gonna print that off 🙂

  5. MrDPrize says:

    that’s a good acronym to follow

  6. elizamatt says:

    I’m really quite relieved that my 7 are now all adults and we are well passed this stage – well not quite as one is now going back to college to study but no stress for me 🙂

  7. salexis says:

    T.H.I.N.K. makes a lot of sense! Sept 22 and the “Back to school” has already added a weight on my shoulders… but it’s getting lighter 🙂

  8. salexis says:

    I’ve been practising this for a week now. It really does help!

  9. Cheryl says:

    I have been trying to get our girls to focus more on the positive I will have to tell them to THINK 🙂

  10. elizamatt says:

    Think before you speak is an old saying that my mother always told us. I like the way the letters have been used to mean even more 🙂

  11. elizamatt says:

    Think before you speak is an old saying that my mother always told us. I like the way the letters have been used to mean even more 🙂

  12. kathy downey says:

    I would like to print this and paste in on my fridge,we could all learn from this !

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