The nights get crisper.
And then one fine September day, our beautiful school building--busy all summer with campers--sees the yellow buses pull up again, delivering bright, shining faces to our front door. The parking lot is once again crowded with parents and their children.
Another school year begins.
Right now, my class of 2nd and 3rd graders is transitioning. Out of summer. From their long days with you, moms and dads. Separating from the bounty of those picnics and family gatherings. Maybe adjusting to having more structure again in their daily lives. There's a letting go of those delicious summer days that needs to happen. For us all.
Sometimes in these early days, you may notice your child is more tired, cranky, or clingy. Your child is doing a whole lot of work right now. Gearing up for the challenges and joys ahead and adjusting to being in the company of scores of other humans. As the adults in their lives, we can provide comfort and ease through this transition by setting up clear routines, certainty about what happens where and when, and resetting expectations about their responsibilities to us.
And we will read, discovering and reinforcing what a "just right" book means for each child. We will write, moving from drafts they have completed into a second go at revision, a task quite challenging to most 7, 8, and 9 year olds. We will continue reviewing and strengthening concepts in math, such as place value, automaticity with basic facts, reading word problems with care, and taking the time to share thinking on the page.
And we will laugh together. Often.