Tag: back to school

Back to School and Back to the Podcast!

On By justmymomsenseIn PodcastLeave a comment

After a summer hiatus, Just My MomSense is back and I couldn’t be more excited!.

If you’re new here, welcome! I’m Jen, a mom navigating the everyday ups and downs of parenting, sharing stories, resources, and encouragement along the way.

This week’s episode is a solo one, where I’m catching you up on how summer went in our house, how we’re handling the big back-to-school transition, and what’s ahead for the podcast.

🎧You can listen to the full episode, Summer Recap, Back to School and More Episodes Ahead, by clicking here or wherever you listen to podcasts.

I’d love to hear from you too! How was your summer, and how is the back-to-school season going for your family? Share with me in the comments below or come connect on Instagram [@justmymomsense].

You Don’t Have to Do the Whole School Year Today

On By justmymomsenseIn Anxiety, schoolLeave a comment

Last Tuesday was the first day of school in my area. We had an awesome summer full of fun, family, travel and friends! That would be a tough one to transition from normally, but this year both of my kids were going into new schools. If you’ve read this blog before, then you can probably assume that this caused plenty of anticipatory anxiety in my house.

Last week, as we were navigating first-day jitters, endless forms, and figuring out new drop-off times, my husband and I reminded the kids (and ourselves):

You don’t have to do the whole school year today. You only have to do today.

It’s so easy to get caught up in the big picture:

  • The homework and projects that will eventually be assigned
  • The tests that will need to be studied for
  • The extracurricular activities and school events that fill the calendar

But when we focus on everything all at once, it feels overwhelming before we even begin. That’s true for our kids, and it’s true for us as parents. We’ve been working on breaking it down into manageable pieces. Today we wake up, we eat breakfast, we get to school, we do our best. That’s it. Tomorrow we’ll do it again. One day at a time.

As I write this, the Sunday Scaries are creeping in. If you deal with that too (as an adult or child), know that you’re not alone. Keep taking everything one day at a time. Look for the small victories, the things to celebrate and the mishaps to learn from.

We don’t have to do all the days, we just have to do today.

The 1st Day of School 2023

On By justmymomsenseIn school1 Comment

I am now a parent of a 1st and 4th grader.

Yesterday was their first day of school.

New outfits? Check!

New kicks? Check! (Kicks-as the kids say)

School supplies? Check!

Both kids are in separate schools but this is their second year in their respective schools. Sound confusing? Our schools are split up in an interesting way in my area. I like it, but I do wish they could be in the same school. This won’t happen until one is a senior in High School and the other is a freshman.

A big milestone: this was the first year that my now 4th grader went into school without tears! This was major! He had plenty of nerves and ton of adrenaline. Luckily he saw some friends on the walk to school and waiting in front of the school. He was able to walk in as part of a pack and waive goodbye over his shoulder.

My 1st grader went in tear-free as well. She didn’t cry in Pre-K but threw me a curveball in Kindergarten when she cried and didn’t want to get out of the car. We had a successful drop off this year.

As I’ve talked about in previous blogs, all kids, not just my own, tend to hold in a lot of different emotions throughout the school day. Once they get home, it can come out in a variety of ways. When I picked up my 4th grader today, I had to wait for him at a new door. He came out of the door from last year and ran to me crying. I think the cap popped off and now it was mixed with feeling like he did something wrong. His nerves got the best of him and he went to the exit he knew the best. Tomorrow his teacher will point out exactly where he needs to be which will alleviate some of those jitters. We walked home with on and off tears talking about his teacher, his class and how he had a good day. He also pointed out how he didn’t cry that morning, which made him happy.

Transitions are hard. They’re extra tough for someone with sensory processing difficulties and anxiety. The routine of school each week into the weekend can be tough. The routine of the school year into summer can be tough. The summer routine back into the school routine with a new class and new teacher can be straight up overwhelming.

I have no doubts that they’ll both have a good year. As we always do, we take it one day at a time and try our best to focus on the highlights while riding the emotional waves.

Back To School Nesting

On By justmymomsenseIn school1 Comment

I felt like this was an appropriate title. Does anyone do this?

Leading up to the first day of school, which was today, I’ve been doing more than just getting the school supplies together.

I’ve been cleaning, organizing and making sure all the laundry was put away. Now some of you may be thinking “I do this everyday, so that doesn’t sound too different.” I think I know how quick the school year can turn chaotic and I want to kick it off with calmer vibes, so this is a bigger clean. But then I had the realization that this is similar to nesting I did prior to the kids being born.

And boom, we now have what is known as: Back to School Nesting.

Back to School Haircuts

On By justmymomsenseIn schoolLeave a comment

The other day I took both of my kids to get haircuts. Who doesn’t need a fresh new cut for school, right?!

My 9 year old has never been thrilled with haircuts but he is able to sit through them now. He did seem to get himself stuck in a cycle of hair falling on his face > wiping his face with the cape > the cape was covered in hair > more hair would end up on his face and the cycle would continue. But, he made it through!

As we were leaving, a little boy was coming in looking terrified and crying. He didn’t want to sit in the chair and was holding onto his mom as tight as he could. In that moment, I looked at his mom and I saw myself.

When we got in the car, my son and daughter asked why he was so sad. I went over some possible reasons and asked my son if he could relate. He could. We talked about how he used to cry, scream and stiffen his body anytime we brought him in for a haircut.

My daughter didn’t seem to understand and we talked about how getting a haircut affected my son. I asked how loud the scissors were while getting her hair cut. She said a 0. I asked my son how loud the buzzer and scissors were and he said a 25. I’m not sure what their scales were, but clearly one was a lot different. He talked about how it feels like sharp tools on his head, it’s loud and it’s itchy.

This took us on a path of talking through different senses, how the brain processes things differently and how each of them react to different foods, textures, sights and sounds. This was a conversation I’ve had with my son before, but not as much with my daughter.

I’m proud of my son for being able to get through things that once were so difficult for him, even though they’re still not easy and for being able to recognize them better now than he ever has before.

As far as we’ve come, his very first haircut still seems like yesterday.

Back To School Blogs From The Archives

On By justmymomsenseIn school1 Comment

Back to school time is upon us and I wanted to share some school related blogs I’ve written along the way:

The After School Eruption

School May Not Look Like You Imagined Part 1

School May Not Look Like You Imagined Part 2

School May Not Look Like You Imagined Part 3

School May Not Look Like You Imagined Part 4

Be sure to check out A Few Of My Favorite Things for books, favorite authors, toys and more that can help with the transition back to school and all year round!

Let me know how you’re feeling about this time of year by leaving a comment or connecting on Instagram: @justmymomsense!