Back to School

String Bean is much too young for school, but Mr. Bean and I both work for the college in our town. We are in the midst of the hustle and bustle of preparing for students to return.

Many of you are working on trying to get your children ready to go back to school. Having been a teacher in the past, here are my back to school tips from an elementary teacher's point of view:

1. Your child's teacher does not want to start off on the wrong foot with you and you don't want to start off on the wrong foot with your child's teacher. Stick to the school supply list. Don't send little extras like race car pencil sharpeners, cutesy but non functional erasers, or pens if they aren't on the list. You can imagine what is going to happen to your child and that race car pencil sharpener. Vroom, vroom.

2. If you're sending your child to school for the first time, it will break your heart if your child cries at the classroom door. Teachers are used to this. Give them a hug and move on. More often than not, your child will be just fine in 5 minutes, but prolonging the drop off only causes stress for the teacher, you, your child, and the class. It is not a good way to sart off the school day.

3. Junk food in your kid's lunch (or for a mid-morning snack) will only make your child hyper immediately following lunch and then crash after that. Please don't do that to your kid (or their teacher)!

4. Remember that your kid's teacher wants to work with you-not for you. In the end, the teacher is there to assist you with your child's education. Ultimately, you are responsible for supervising your child's education. This includes helping with homework, practicing reading and math facts at home, teaching character and citizenship at home year-round, and supporting what is happening in the classroom.

As you sing "It's the most wonderful time of the year" down the aisles of Target, be determined to help your child have the best school year ever!