First Week of School

Guest Blogger 

By Kenna McHugh

For the past week or so, I have been doing everything in my power to have a smooth transition from ending summer vacation as my kids start the new school year. All of it is challenging, but getting through this first week feels like an enormous achievement, and I give myself a jumping high-five.

We’ve made it through those endless shopping trips to purchase school supplies, “What we have to go to back to Target, again!”

Learn more about The Moms Code and visit us on Facebook 

Let’s face it, the first week of school is stressful for both me and my kids. There are totally different schedules and schools to keep track of. There’s paperwork, permission ships, and syllabuses to read and sign. I am one of those parents who actually reads everything before I sign it. “What does this mean…’the Science teacher may request your child to remove his or her contact lens’?”  “I don’t know. I am not removing my contacts for anybody,” answers my sixteen-year-old daughter.  “Why do I read this stuff?” I ask myself.

So, the ritual begins where I need to make sound judgments and not rash decisions about what the teachers and the schools are or are not doing. Clearly, my daughter doesn’t want me to be a Mama Drama. She jumps to her feet, “Oh please, no emails. Don’t worry about it mom. I am sure it is just a safety precaution.”

“Mom is sending emails already?” asks my son.

“No, I am not sending any emails, yet. I am just trying to understand these syllabuses. They get more and more complicated each year.”

Proud parents just like you appreciate multi-cultural education for your children.  The Moms Code author Eileen Wacker has also written a children's book series.

Now, my son is bringing home syllabuses from his P.E. and Art teachers. He is only in fifth grade. I have so many things to keep track of like donations for art supplies and volunteer hours at P.E. testing. Not to mention each school has different holidays and bell schedules. Then, there is the idea that other moms somewhere and somehow are managing all this quite well.

So this year I am taking a different approach. I am throwing in the towel. I am stepping back a bit and trusting the schools, teachers, and my kids more, and so far, it is working.

Just a week, but this time I will do my best not to make waves or butt heads with their guidelines and teaching methods.  Still, I will keep my ear to those classes I have concerns about, like the English teacher who spews psycho-mumbo-jumbo as a learning method and has a neurotic daughter, who is 18 and is still a sophomore in high school.

I am not emailing. I am letting my daughter deal with it. “Don’t send an email mom. I want to stay on good terms with her, so if I ever need it, she’ll bump up my grade.”

I need to stop harping on myself and being overly concerned about my children’s education. They are both bright, well-mannered kids with high GPAs.  I need to concentrate on the good work they are doing because the results are two very awesome kids who are learning to be more independent each year as they grow into responsible adults.

Are Schools Pushing Our Children to the Limit and Making them Sick?

Is homework causing your child to get sick? This is a question that might result in some eye rolls, but reliable research and surveys conducted in middle-class areas present a pretty convincing case. 

Pressure for children to succeed in both sports and in the classroom has led to a desire, fueled both by parents and teachers, to not only achieve but overachieve. Of course we want our kids to be the best they can be and succeed in everything they do, and having a slightly competitive spirit is not a terrible thing given society’s competitive nature- but are we pushing our kids too far? 

Denise Pope, a senior lecturer at the Stanford Graduate School of Education and co-author of a study on Experimental Education, says that these days children are doing an average of three hours of homework per night, some less and some up to five hours. The problem has become so severe that some schools even have to place a limit on the amount of homework teachers are allowed to give. High achieving schools are separating kids at younger and younger ages, placing them in advanced classes and honors courses in grade school! 

Pope’s study focused in on upper-middle-class school districts because it is known that affluent families whose children attend privileged schools often do not question how much homework their child is being given and, as you can imagine, parents paying a lot of money for their child to be a student at a particular school expect results. But how is the pressure

privileged schools put on children affecting their health and happiness? To answer this question, Pope conducted a survey of over 4,300 students from 10 high-performance high schools. The results showed that 56% of students felt homework was the primary cause of stress in their lives. These levels of stress due to excessive homework not only affected the happiness of the students, but also their physical well being. The connection was very clear, high levels of stress were causing all kinds of physical problems, including sleep deprivation, weight loss, migraines, stomach aches, and even ulcers. Not to mention the impacts stress had on their mental health as well, causing depression and high levels of anxiety. Although the study was conducted with high school students, Pope also has data that presents the same conclusions with younger students. 

To stretch even beyond just homework, by having these attitudes drilled into student’s heads  at a  young age we are setting ourselves up to raise a self-centered, overly competitive, and“all work no play, winner-takes-all” generation of people. 

So how can we fix the issue and help our children’s mental and physical health while still raising smart, hard working people? Pope says the level of homework that showed the best results is two hours for high schoolers and a maximum of 90 minutes for middle schoolers, as well as finding a balance between sports and time to just relax. And it is up to parents to monitor their child’s health and find a way to teach them responsibility and being a hard worker without going overboard! 

Stocking Your Emergency Homework Kit

Going back to school doesn't just mean a lot of change and work for the kids, but for Mom too. Back to school time involves a whole lot of list making, shopping, and organizing. But among the chaos, it is easy for a few critical items to never make it to the cart. Even easier than that is for items like pens, pencils, erasers and such to make their way to school but never quite get home. Even with pencil cases and backpacks, school supplies seem to disappear quicker than bobby pins or the match to their sock!

 It is tough for a lot of kids to keep track or all their stuff or always remember what they will need, and this is one of the (many!) reasons why getting back into the dreaded homework routine proves to be quite a challenge. So we have devised a portable homework station, so the kids will always have an area dedicated to homework time and stocked up with all the essentials- and if necessary can be taken on the go. 

First get a few shoeboxes or a cheerful container, then if your child is game decorate it with their name in glitter or stickers and make it into something fun. Mark it "Homework Helper".

Some of our favorite homework survival supplies include:

1. Crayons

2. Markers

3. Colored pencils

4. Glue (the stick as well as the bottle)

5. Ruler

6. Scissors

7. Protractor

8. USB drive

9. Calculator (Scientific as well as a graphing calculator for moms with high schoolers)

10. Lined paper and graph paper

11. Extra notebooks, folders, and binders

12. Pens (red, blue, and black-green too if you really want to go crazy!) and pencils

13. Pencil sharpener 

14. A surprise treat for the week (stickers, their favorite snack, ect)

This kit will help to make homework time as efficient and painless as possible- for them and for you! And once they're done homework goes into the backpack and the box gets put away until tomorrow. The idea is that it's easy and portable! 

To learn more about Modern Moms and The Mom Code, please visit ONCEKids Publishing website, Facebook and Twitter

Make Mornings Easier [PART 1 of 2]

Every busy mom knows that mornings are hectic, chaotic, and just plain stressful. Getting yourself ready for the busy day ahead, getting the kids off to school and daycare, and making sure you remember everything can seem like an impossible task. Luckily, there are a few strategies to get everyone up and out of the house on time -- and in one piece -- each morning. The key to keeping mornings stress-free for everyone is to plan ahead and stay organized. Make sure these three things have been done each night before you go to bed:

1. Homework has been completed and put into backpacks along with the books they need for school the following day. This will prevent frantic searching for them in the morning or having the kids be unprepared in class. This goes for moms too -- have all your work essentials laid out including your purse and keys. Keeping items in the same place each night is also a good time saver and stress minimizer because you'll always know where they will be.

To learn more about Modern Moms and The Mom Code, please visit ONCEKids Publishing website, Facebook and Twitter

2. Lunches and snacks have been made and put in the fridge. Having everyone's lunches made, including your own, is one of the best ways to de-stress your mornings. That way you and the kids can just grab it and go. Also, labeling the lunches or having a unique lunch box for each kid will prevent any confusion, and perhaps even preventing a potential meltdown if the wrong lunch is taken. 

Learn more about acclaimed author and Mompreneur Eileen Wacker, click here 

3. Have a backup breakfast ready for those extra hectic mornings. Every family has those mornings where it seems like everything is going wrong- maybe you overslept or one of the kids is feeling particularly stubborn. For those days where time is running short, have a quick and easy breakfast solution prepared. Maybe some trail mix or granola? Fresh fruit, such as bananas, apples, and oranges are perfect for an on-the-go, but still healthy, meal. 

Click here to see part 2 of this series, Morning Meltdowns!