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Published August 20, 2008
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Getting Ready for Middle School-A Comfortable Place to Be
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| By Andrea A. Firth |
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With two kids entering 8th grade, a boy and a girl, I feel like we have the pre-game plan for middle school under control. Two kids times two years prior experience should have provided adequate practice to enable us to be ready for the new school year without much hassle or stress.
However, when I ask my 13-year old daughter what it will take to get ready for middle school, she responds, “There is no way to get ready for middle school, mom.” (Great, what is that supposed to mean?) But after a pause she adds, “You need a planner, definitely need a planner.” Ok, maybe she has learned something in sixth and seventh grade and won’t come home from school each day this year with her homework assignments scrawled in ink on the back of her hand—we’ll see.
I had considered starting to wake my two teens up a little earlier each day through the remainder of this month to help them to orient to the alarm that will ring at 6:30 a.m. on weekdays during the school year. Although both kids were up and out of bed at a respectable hour in June and July to get to their various summer activities and camps, August has been the time for sleeping in. To be truthful, sleeping in has equated to breakfast turning into lunch. But I have abandoned the idea of the gradual wake up call and plan for the kids to go cold turkey—either way they will complain about the early hour so why prolong my agony?
As far as back-to-school shopping goes, I have learned that letting two 13-year olds loose in Target with a shopping cart and the school supply list is not a good idea or at least not fiscally responsible one. At this point in their school careers, I am sure that we can scrounge up a semi-complete set of colored pencils, a handful of pens, and a Sharpie or two from our household supply. We definitely do not need to buy another ruler. By my estimate, we are on the hook for a couple of new binders, which will have to be replaced midyear anyway, and a few wads of notebook paper.
I find getting ready for middle school a comfortable place to be. My kids have reached a level of independence and maturity and are pretty capable of getting themselves ready for the first day of school. The academic pressures of high school are still a year away, and I am happily cruising on autopilot. Each year I find that I do a little bit less and they do a little bit more, and that is the beauty of middle school. |
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| Reach Andrea A. Firth at: andrea@lamorindaweekly.com |
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Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA