WHAT DOES BACK TO SCHOOL MEAN TO YOU?

It means a lot to me …

As a mama, back-to-school means back to routine. It means structure over spontaneity. It means early bedtime, better meal-planning, baths every night. It means homework. It means breakfast and dinner as a family. It means reconnecting with old friends and making new friends. It means anxiousness of new teachers and new classmates. It means new shoes and new backpacks. It means crisp new uniforms. It means yearbook pictures. It means soccer practice and soccer games. It means birthday parties. It means busier weekends. It means an appreciation of just being together. It means another year older.

As a preschool teacher, back-to-school means loving new students who are apprehensive about big school and new friends. It means playing. It means getting messy. It’s about making connections. It means practicing rules and routines. It means building a community. It means instilling the joy of learning into the hearts of little people. It means teaching little ones what walking in a line really looks like. It means planning in the midst of living. It means having fun and being exhausted. It means knowing how the parents of these little ones feel leaving them at school for the first time.

Back-to-school means a lot of things to me. It’s a season of change from the spontaneity of summer. It’s a season of newness. It’s a season of growth. It’s a season of trust. It’s a season I love. What does back to school mean to you?