'twas the night before school started

'twas the night before school started

when all through the town

the parents were cheering...

it was a riotous sound

 

by eight, kids were washed

and tucked into bed...

where memories of homework

filled them with dread

new pencils, new folders,

new notebooks, too

new teachers, new friends...

their anxiety grew

 

the parents just giggled

when they learned of this fright

and shouted upstairs

GO TO BED... IT'S A SCHOOL NIGHT

disclaimer: i read this online tonight and thought it was so cute, so i had to post it so i could remember it later :)

Back to School in Numbers

100... hours of painting this summer

7... butterflies flying on the walls

140... photocopies made

489... books waiting to be read

3... classes I'll be teaching

10... boxes of brand new washable markers

2... spotless, handprint-free tables

15... flowers growing in our room

12... chairs

2,500... sheets of construction paper

20... students registered

9... boys

11... girls

200... fingers ready to fingerpaint

13... new toys bought this summer

31... calendar numbers laminated

6,327... stickers (not that I really counted)

836... Clorox wipes to be used this year

8... hours until school starts

1... teacher excited for tomorrow!

The Night Before...

...going back to school. Ah, the memories. When I was growing up, I remember feelings of excitement, anxiety, and sadness on this night.

Excitement... seeing friends again.

Anxiety... What will this year be like?

Sadness... summer is over.

I think the feeling of excitement usually dominated and my sister Becky and I would talk late into the night about what the following day would bring. That is, after I bribed my sister Erin to let me sleep in her bed so Becky and I could talk. Since I was the oldest, I had my own room and Becky and Erin shared a room. I usually liked having my own room, but on going-back-to-school eve, I would try to convince Erin that it would be fun for her to sleep in my room, and this convincing usually required some small bribe. I can't remember what it would have been, but probably something extravagant like a piece of gum or maybe a quarter. She was usually fairly easy to please.

Becky and I would then talk about random things like classmates, teachers, school work, and probably a bunch of nonsense until Mom would tell us to go to bed because we had to get up early the next day. While our lips were silent, my brain would be in overdrive and usually took a while to slow down enough to fall asleep.

The next morning we would wake up with excitement... to see our friends, arrange our desk stuff, and best of all... break open the new school supplies!!!

I won't be talking to my sister "late" (as in 10:00 PM) into the night, but I do have a feeling of excitement and anticipation... for new students (currently at 16), new activities, and a new adventure of teaching preschool full-time. This year I won't be splitting my time with preschool and the junior/senior high class as I did last year. It feels a little weird that I won't be with the older kids, because I was their teacher for 5+ years, so it was with mixed emotions that I chose to do the preschool full-time this year. But I'm sure it will work out fine, and I'm excited to see what God will do this year!

Now I'm off to bed to "dream" about school!

Good Night!