The Eve Of A New School Year

We have been home from our last outing of summer holidays for two days now and tomorrow morning it is time to be off to school again. There is a new reality for us now as we will be taking the bus to get to school instead of our former ten minute walk up the hill. This means there can be no lateness like our usual leaving the house to run up the hill a little faster, scooting in the school doors at 8:59am! Nooo, now we will be tied to a firm bus schedule that departs our farm lane at 8:25am sharp! And if we miss it, we will be waiting an hour for the next bus, making us very late for school. Anyone who knows me well, knows I am chronically late for everything, and when it comes to buses, usually running to catch them. But I am determined to do my best to always be on time for this bus and light a fire under the children every morning and spur them into action!
 

We have shared some fantastic family bonding time during our summer hiking holidays. It will be hard to relinquish my time with the children and give them over to school each day, but I think they are looking forward to returning to their friends and learning journeys and I am hoping to buckle down to more writing time and achieving some personal goals. I always love the start of something new and September is my favourite month of the year for new beginnings.

Ryder, my oldest, is starting Year 6, the highest year in the school. He is excited that his closest friend will be entering Year 4 which is in the same classroom, as it is a combination of 4, 5 and 6 together. This will be his leaving year before he moves onto secondary school and he has truly thrived in our little school which has been a wonderful leap coming from homeschooling. The school has been a perfect fit for him.

Frances is going into Year 3 and has a lovely, close-knit group of girls in her year that she has been with since mid-way through Year 1 when we arrived in the village. She is learning about how girls behave and how some are nicer than others and can clearly see who she wants to spend her time with but she also has the tact and behavior to integrate with everyone. She is really into her clothes and appearance though and has spent most of today precisely picking out exactly which uniform combination she wants to wear tomorrow, along with a chosen hairstyle and accessories. I can only imagine where this preening may lead when she is a teen!

Rowan, my baby, is moving into Year 1 and just talks eagerly about seeing his friends again and playing with all the toys in his classroom. I have reminded him that as a Year 1, he will be expected to do far more book work and less playing but he firmly asserts that he will be playing more than learning! That’s me told then…typical little Taurus boy, bulldozing his way forward! He had a lot of problems and issues settling into school last year and really only made progress in the last half of the year. But then again, he is only 5! I am not concerned, and just hope he can carve out his own niche that works best for him in school.

Our school is perfect for the children right now. As long as they are happy and content, I would never move them from it. But next year will be the hard year when Ryder goes off to secondary school, and I have many thoughts as to how we will deal with it if he doesn’t like it or it doesn’t work for him. But that is a bridge to cross when we get to it. For now, we just have to focus on enjoying this year at our little village school and all the wonderful memories that will be made.

Now to face the first hurdle before the morning dawns….getting everyone to bed at a decent and early time! Farewell to late summer nights. A new school year is beckoning to us all.