Husband and I are winning at school.
I’m not trying to sound pompous or anything. I mean, the year just started. But our failing is pretty legendary. If you had seen us at the end of last school year, you’d know that we were the parents who stopped signing our kids’ folders in November. I hesitate to say this, because I don’t want to jinx us so early on in the year, but I’m incredibly proud of how we hit the ground running this year.
My boys have been in school for three whole weeks and we are still signing folders. If you knew how many folders there were, you would think this was quite an accomplishment, too. In fact, I’ll just tell you, so you can celebrate right along with us.
The fourth-grader has an agenda that needs to be signed when he finishes his homework and another folder that needs to be signed when I actually see his graded homework, which is a little up in the air, because he’s like the nutty professor and doesn’t always remember to bring this one home. The second grader has a book list that must be filled in with every single thing he wants to read in the afternoon, which is actually quite a lot. He also has an agenda that should be signed after his homework is completed. The first grader has a book folder, an agenda, and a behavior chart. I give out a lot of autographs every day.
Not only that, but in the first weeks of school, the boys inevitably come home with a billion papers I’ve already filled out, because, it turns out, the school’s online system, which I used so my hand wouldn’t get cramped up, isn’t displaying vital information correctly. So I had to fill out the papers with a pen anyway. It’s a good thing I had a little practice, because some of the questions are hard. Emergency contact number? I can’t hold numbers in my brain anymore.
I know it’s still early in the stages of the school year and that the papers will continue to exponentially increase, as will the signatures, but Husband and I created a solid system this year that includes a place for everything, a whole bunch of file folders to keep things safe and some new expectations on the boys.
Husband and I are creative people, and we spent a lot of time this year thinking about how to appear more successful at organization, because we didn’t want to further prove the fallacy that all creative people are unorganized. It’s mostly not true. So I went a little overboard on the office supplies. I filled a jar with pens, because our excuse last year was mostly that we couldn’t find a pen to sign anything and it was totally true. I labeled a file folder for homework, because the excuse, “My little brothers ate my homework” was actually a possibility in our house. This year, the homework and pens have moved where little hands can’t reach them.
And, probably most important of all, we’ve begun to expect our boys to not only pack up their things, which they did last year, but also make their own lunches. Sure, one is barely six and still has trouble distinguishing between a fruit and a vegetable (especially when it comes to tomatoes), but they’re smart kids and fully capable, as I suspect every kid is. Sometimes we make things harder on ourselves, when we could, instead, delegate a task to a perfectly competent kid.
[Tweet “We make things harder on ourselves when we could, instead, delegate a task to a competent kid.”]
So here are my best tips for winning at school:
1. Get organized, whatever that looks like for you. Maybe it’s not a billion working pens and a box of file folders. But find what works and do it.
2. Make kids do things for themselves. It’s empowering for kids to do things for themselves, no matter how much they complain about it at the time. I’d rather be playing too, kids. We all work together.
3. Designate a time for the signing of folders or checking of homework or whatever it is that needs doing. If the time isn’t designated, it won’t happen.
I’m sure Husband and I will be a little winded by the time November rolls around, but, for now, I’m determined to stay on top of things, and we are, thanks to file folders, a jar with pens that actually write and extra help from our fully capable boys.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this inside look at my life and family. Every Friday, I publish a short blog on something personal that includes a valuable takeaway. For more of my essays and memoir writings, visit Wing Chair Musings.
