Hi All! Amy here and it’s Back-to-School Week at the Kingsford-Collard home--so I’ve decided to focus on that during the next three days that I’ll be spending with you as your Write.Click.Scrapbook hostess.
Back-to-School time has always been a big deal for me ever since I was a child. And so it has become a part of my family’s life that I take special care in preparing for and documenting. As a result I enjoy sharing our story with others via blog posts, scrapbook pages and the likes.
In fact every year I typically write a big blog post heavy on words and photos, documenting the event—from finding the perfect new backpack and shoes, to this year’s homemade teacher gift, to my own excitement and anxiety about the triumphs and challenges that lie ahead for my boys.
If you're interested in taking a look here are links to my Back to School 2012 Post and my Back to School 2013 Post.
This year, however I found myself a little overwhelmed by the task of putting together a “big Back-to-School post.” You see my son broke his arm this last week and a lot of the energy I would have normally put into back-to-school has gone into making sure he’s comfortable and taking special care of his arm so that we might avoid surgery.
But that’s not the only reason I’ve been avoiding the topic of Back-to-School it’s because everything still feels very much up in the air and somewhat overwhelming...
"Will he be joining his classmates on the first day of school? Or will he be recovering from surgery?"
"How will missing out on Back-to-School Night and the first day of school impact his ability to cope with being at a new school?"
"How will having a cast affect his learning, participation in school activities and his efforts to make new friends?"
All of these questions make it difficult for me to focus on the fun and excitement that surrounds this time, but they also have me realizing that no matter what, all of this is still an important part of our “Back-to School Story” this year.
So while we may be holding off for now on making our home-made teacher gift and taking our Back-to-School photos and we may end up having to skip Back-to-School Night and the first day of school, the one thing I’m not going to put off or skip this year is recording this part of our “Back-To School Story.”
Journaling:
Back-to-school time has normally been a fun and exciting event for our family in years past. Caleb couldn’t be more excited to start first grade, but for some reason I was a little more anxious about things this year. Caleb was attending his first public school, in which his class size alone would be three times that of his previous class.
Every time I drove past his new big school it made my tall and lanky six year-old seem so much smaller. I would wonder if he’d thrive in the hustle and bustle or if he’d simply just disappear.
As if all of these feelings weren’t enough to completely stress a mother out, one week before the start of school Caleb broke his arm. And all of the sudden everything seemed up in the air. I was left to wonder: “Would Caleb be going to school on the first day? Or would he be recovering from surgery? How would missing out on Back-to-School Night and the first day of school impact his ability to cope with being at a new school? How would having a cast affect his learning, participation in school activities and his efforts to make new friends?”
It almost gets to be too much to handle and then I look at my son and he’s carrying around his backpack and picking out his outfit for the first day of school (changing his mind every couple of days) and I realize that he is no less than ecstatic to be starting school--cast or no cast, this week or next. All I have to do is take one look at that smile and I just know that everything is going to be alright!
What does your Back to School Story look like?
There is no denying that the excitement, overwhelm and even the anxiety that surround this time of year are a big part of our stories. The printable below includes several prompts to get you thinking/writing about some of these feelings and how they fit into YOUR “Back to School Story.”
You can download this printable here.
I hope you’ll join me tomorrow for tips on photographing Back-to-School and there will be a printable Back to School Photo Checklist for you too!
