first day blahs?

[Wilhemina]

I've been reading on the boards too much today, a sure sign that something is bothering me. Here it is, I hope you can help.

Today is the first day of public school here, so it is also the first day my dd is officially a homeschooler (she is 5). I absolutely feel like this is the right choice and I KNOW I would be far more sad/worried/depressed if she were in kindergarten right now instead of reading in her room, but...

I do have mixed feelings - the excitement of a new group of kids and a new teacher and a new classroom to explore. You know, the road not travelled I guess. Are these feelings common to homeschool parents (especially those that never sent their dcs to school)? Surely this feeling will go away soon??

Maybe it didn't help that I babysat a friends 3 y.o. while she took her kindergartener (my dds good friend) to school.

Sorry for the rambling. Thanks for reading.

[Dar]

A lot of groups seem to have big Not Back to School get-togethers right around the time school starts, for this very reason. All the other kids are doing something exciting and new, and it is easy to feel left out and left behind.

I guess it's too late for you to plan a big party this year, but maybe you and your daughter could have your own celebration? Something special, maybe a daytrip somewhere and a picnic, or anything free and on our own terms (unlike school).

Dar

[boysrus]

Its funny, but I feel the opposite. I get excited when all the other kids go back to school and so we can have the whole world "to ourselves!" I love to wtch the kids hop on their buses and go away.
But, I also get really into the back to school excitement o our own front. We are going to be hitting back to school sales this week, and we have a little "school time" that we do(by ds #2 request) and I pack them lunches and we do circle time and the whole little bit. It fulfills my need for school.
Why dont you tak eyour dd someplace really special: a "grownup" lunch sate, or a picninc in the park, take her to the museum or an amusement park, somplae that wont be totally overrun mow that school is back in

[Wilhemina]

Thank you both for the replies!

Dar, our group does need a Not-Back-To-School party. I will definately keep that in mind for next year. As soon as I posted I thought, "this is ridiculous - I know how to fix this" and when dd age 3 woke up from her nap we went to the paint your own pottery shop. Great fun - we all felt better when we came home.

Boysrus, you are absolutely right about having a less crowded day time world! We have been planning a trip to a favorite park next week when school takes in in that community. It is absolutely overrun in the summer.

Thanks again,
AM

[ekblad9]

I can sympathize. When my oldest daughter was supposed to be starting kindergarten I had really mixed feelings. I had always loved the first day of school as a kid and I just wondered if I was stealing something from her. My oldest, a boy, could have cared less. He was in ps for a few years and hated it. He knew the routine and I didn't feel like he was missing out. Anyway, I think I even posted here about my mixed feelings.

Well, that was a few years ago. Now I, like many homeschoolers, am just happy to have all the museums, zoos, ect. back to ourselves! I'm happy to still be in my pj's when the bus pulls away.

Good luck!

[gothmommy]

Conversely, I kind of felt the opposite when AJ went to kindergarten, and 1st grade and 2nd grade. Monday he goes to 3rd and I think since I will be doing some homeschool enrichment with him I am actually not feeling so bummed this time around. Like I said in another post, it is his choice to attend school out of the home although he wants some enrichment activities at home.
I was actually secretly hoping he'd say "Aw, I'd rather stay at home mom!" but he didn't and I respect that.

[ShannonCC]

Is your dd having trouble or is this just you? I know what you mean about the new school year. I used to love the first day of school. SO exciting. All the new stuff, your parents talking it up for weeks, getting new clothing, new books, new teachers, new kids. It was all new and fresh and an adventure! By the end of the first week I was glad for the weekend and before September was over (LONG before!) I'd be counting the days til Thanksgiving vacation :LOL So yeah, it was exciting, but (for me at least) that excitement only lasted a few days. Then it was same old school. Different teacher, different year, same crap :LOL

My dd has known for years she is a homeschooler. This is her first official year but she doesn't know that and I don't see the need to tell her. She already identifies herself as a homeschooler so I'm not going to tell her that technically she wasn't before now. That's just a school mentality anyway, right? Most of her friends are homeschoolers. It's normal for her. I am not going to be making a big deal of the first day of school because it means nothing to her (we're also unschoolers so it *really* means nothing to her).

I say all that just to ask if your dd has a problem with not going to school? If she does then yeah, have a party. We have a lot of "not back to school" activities here too and I guess they really can help with kids who used to go to school or who have a lot of schooled friends. But if she doesn't care then I would not play it up. For me, the not back to school thing just makes it seem as if the homeschoolers are missing something.

[Brisen]

ShannonCC, you bring up a point I've been mulling over lately. My son will be 5 this fall, so old enough to start SK. He started JK last year, and we withdrew him by Hallowe'en. He has since said he wants to go back, but also that he doesn't. From conversations with him, I really think it's the kids he misses, and the fact that everybody does it. So while I didn't want to be doing formal school time with him at this point, I'm trying to decide if it might be beneficial. I hadn't realized how much I leaned towards unschooling before, but it seems I really want to avoid all things school-like. If that makes sense. So I'm trying to figure out if it's such a big deal to do some on-the-surface school-like things here or not. I think I would like to find a nice big chalkboard as a "starting school" thing.

[ShannonCC]

Originally Posted by Brisen

He has since said he wants to go back, but also that he doesn't. From conversations with him, I really think it's the kids he misses, and the fact that everybody does it. So while I didn't want to be doing formal school time with him at this point, I'm trying to decide if it might be beneficial.

Shannon (lovely name by the way :LOL) if he's missing the kids, why not just concentrate on making friends with other homeschoolers? I wouldn't see academics as an answer to missing the kids in school, yk? I think a not-back-to-school event would be a good thing for you guys If you can't find one near you, how about doing something REALLY cool on the first day of school like going to an amusement park or a zoo or to a matinee or the beach or . . . . . (fill in the blank with something he would LOVE doing! )