by Muffy Mendoza
Tags: black mom bloggers
black mom blogs
kids and schools
school year blues
tired of school
websites for black moms
This morning was a hard one. It’s another Monday and the children and I are doing our usual. They ate breakfast, I heated up the car and yelled to them to get their shoes on when I came back in the house. Then I remembered, we forgot to do our homework on Friday. I made the mistake of announcing the oversight to the kids and here come the tears. Phillip, my kindergartener, hates loosing points at school for anything. Yes he’s a great student, but a missed point equals tears for him. So he’s crying and now, I feel like the bad mom.
In between visiting with my dad, taking an evening trip to the store on Friday and picking up my husband’s dry cleaning, I just forgot and the truth is I’m tired of remembering. If there’s another mom who feels the same way, please let me get a virtual Amen. I’m ready for flowers, sunny days, kids running around with random Halloween costumes on, no homework, no deadlines and no waiting in the van for another hour after school because my 13-year-old was late for school, or threw food in the lunchroom and now has detention. I”M TIRED OF SCHOOL.
So this morning, after having a cappucino, which could probably just go by the name of sugar milk considering how much cream and sugar I add, I came up with these 5 ways get get over my mid-school year blues.
1. Let’s schedule some half-days. Of course nobody wants their kids to miss school too much, but there’s nothing wrong with taking a half-day. Pick the kids up before school time rush hour, order pizza, let the kids play video games, go outside or watch a movie and just chill. Hopefully, the teacher doesn’t have their homework ready in time so they can skip a day. Or, you can do a late day and let everybody just sleep in.
2. Go to the park afterschool. So this one isn’t for you. It’s for the kids because newsflash: they’re tired of school too. Let your kids get some time to frolick after school and just have fun. Cut the routine of come home, homework, go to bed. Let the teacher know what day your planning and ask her for a lighter homework load that day. Those who ask receive.
3. Take a field trip with the kids. Schedule a day off school and go on a field trip with your kiddos. And no don’t take them to the museum. Go somewhere fun like a nearby cave tour, or a local trampeline gym or do some art. Something to get their creative juices and adrenaline flowing. This also helps you to get nostalgic about how much fun you have with them in the summer time. You can also do this afterschool.
4. Take the kids out to lunch. I used to do this with my older son. I would go to his school at lunchtime and have lunch somewhere around the school with him. He loved this. He’d get a good meal, we’d have some time to talk about his day so far and I’m sure the fresh air was greatly appreciated. Then you just take him back to school. Even if it’s only 20 minutes, it’s time you both get to take a breather and spend some time together.
So this is what’s on my agenda for the last 5 months of school. How are you mamas combatting the middle of the school year blues?