Back-to-School: Parties, Resolutions & New Issues

Tomorrow afternoon is our semi-back-to-school day. BigBrother has orientation at his preschool, the one he attended last year with such great success. Due to a scheduling error, LittleBrother will be tagging along. The real first day of school falls on September 2nd, changing our lives yet again.

We have new issues this year, our first real “back-to” school year as last year was the first time BigBrother ever went to school. What are our new issues?

• Mornings. Last year, BigBrother attended school on Tuesdays and Thursdays in the afternoon. We’d eat lunch, hit the potty and take the short drive to preschool. This year? He has to be delivered to school around 8:40. In the morning. Three days a week. Yikes. Now, I know that’s a lot later (and two days less) than some of you. And, yes, I know that BigBrother wakes up at seven-zero-zero (7:00, people) every single day (and earlier on vacation). So it shouldn’t be an issue, right? We’ll see. I spend most mornings doing work in my pajamas. To actually get up, get both boys fed and dressed and then dress myself might take a little getting used to.
• LittleBrother. Last year, he didn’t ever really notice BigBrother was gone. Late in the year, when I would wake him up from his nap and say that we were going to go get his brother at school, he’d say his name and “cool.” The last few days of school, he demanded that he also wear a backpack to and from school. But, mainly, he napped while his brother was at school. He doesn’t take a morning nap anymore (doesn’t need one with his other amounts of sleep). He’ll be wide awake while brother is gone and likely grumpy about being left out. I will have to combat the grumpies and find new ways to entertain my almost-two-year-old youngest son. Normally BigBrother does the entertaining. I hope I can fill his shoes.

I’m sure other issues will crop up, of course. They always do. Like the Bad Kid who is, of course, in his class yet again. To boot, BigBrother has picked up an attitude over the course of the summer, forgetting to use his manners from time to time. I’m hoping that issue magically fixes itself because I’m so over it.

As for resolutions, I do have a few. Some are for me, some are for the kid going to school and some are for the kid staying home with me.

• Go to the gym! Our YMCA only offers child care in the morning (9-12) and the evening (4-8). The latter offering doesn’t work with our dinner, playtime, bedtime routine. And as I said above, mornings are rough. However, I figure that since I’m up and out of the house, I should be able to hit the gym at least one (or two?) of those three days, right? That way LittleBrother can have some social time and I can feel more human. Right? Someone say this is a good resolution and that I’ll be able to keep up with it.
• Work on skills with LittleBrother. Oh, the poor younger child. As I had all the time in the world to devote to BigBrother, he was a bit more advanced in things like colors, letters and numbers. LittleBrother knows some of them but… it’s hard to get one-on-one time with him because someone always butts in and says, “No! That’s green!” How’s a kid supposed to learn? How’s a Mom supposed to find time? While I think some socialization at the gym will also be good for LittleBrother, I do think he’ll vastly benefit from some one-on-one time with me (and FireDad on days he isn’t working). I’m thinking some coloring, painting, dance parties and walks are in our future. His personality is different from that of his older brother so “teaching” him things will have to happen in a different way. Not quite sure how yet but we’ll figure it out as we go. (Also? Potty training? He’s so near it. Soon?)
• Work on fine motor-skills with BigBrother. He knows his letters and numbers and is basically in the early stages of reading. But scissors? Or gluing small items? Or even really drawing or writing his letters? He’s always in motion so working on those fine motor skills proves to be difficult for him. I don’t ever want to push and pressure and make it the opposite of fun or he simply won’t want to do it and then he won’t ever learn it. As such, I really need to come up with some fun motor skill boosting projects for him. This, once again, is kind of out of my league. I’m not a teacher. I don’t pretend to know what I’m doing over here. But I do recognize that he has a deficiency in this area and I’d feel really guilty if I didn’t do something to help him along. Again, what that is other than cutting something out everyday, I don’t know. Ideas?

So, yes, we have goals for this school year. Also, I will continue working on reading with BigBrother. Every time he learns a new word, he gets very excited and looks for it in everything that we read. This last month and a half of summer have not given us much time to work so I’m hoping the return to a schedule, however early our day starts, provides us with time to devote to those things.

Today, however, we’re starting off the “new year” with a party at my friend’s house. I’ll be honest. It wasn’t my idea. She’s having a “It’s Still Summer” party wherein we plan to celebrate the heat (sadly, it will be 85 today) and use up some of the party stuff from the past year. (Old Halloween crafts, Easter egg hunt and wrapping books we’ll be trading in wrapping paper.) Sometimes it bugs me that my friends are so creative. I am just not. But I’ll mooch off their creativity and have a blast with my kids today.

Speaking of parties, you should head over to School Year’s Eve (which is technically what that is for us today, isn’t it?) and look at the ideas they have for a Back-to-School party for your kids and friends. To boot, you could win $1500 for your local PTA. I’m hoping to get some good shots of the kids today to post for tomorrow (Wordless Wednesday). Then again, I always take my camera to parties for the kids and always forget to pull it out because I’m having too much fun. Hopefully the too much fun someday combines with the thought to utilize the camera. Maybe today?

Next week I do promise to share the gifts that we got for BigBrother for his return to school, the gift we got for LittleBrother to soothe the fact that his brother gets to leave and he’s stuck with Mommy and why I don’t go school clothes shopping until late September. Stay tuned.

(And hey! Are you looking for fire truck backpacks for back-to-school? I just featured three awesome backpacks. Check it out!)