Recently, I've heard "wow, that was a really short summer" said a lot among parents. This is because my kids went back to school last week, and it did indeed feel like a short summer. It lasted about two months but it felt like it was two weeks long.
There's a lot of pressure during the summer to pack in a lot of activities. For kids, it's magical. For parents, it's a lot of rewarding work in making sure your kids have a magical time. To that end, I think we did the best we could.
The biggest challenge I found the last week has involved getting kids back in a routine for school. All those sugary snacks I didn't care about them eating every day over summer are now banned again during the week. Television is back to being a weekend endeavor and late nights at the park have been swapped out for earlier storytimes so the kids can get enough rest so they can be at their best to learn.
There's certainly been an adjustment period and quite a bit of resistance (who wouldn't want their "snack" to be chocolate chip muffins every day), but it needed to happen. And it's been great seeing them get back into the rhythm of the school year. At times, it felt like they never would! It makes you remember that kids are more adaptable than adults and really, they'll be OK with changes.
So here's to a great school year full of fun and learning moments for all of us — parents and kids!