Back to School

Welcome back, Mid-Ohio Valley Parent Magazine readers! I hope your summer break was a great one. It feels good to get back into routine after our summer break, and I look forward to the rest of the year.

There’s been a few small changes in the format of the magazine. You can now find our monthly calendar of family activities going on in the Mid-Ohio Valley (including library events listings) on our Web site, www.movparent.com, instead of in print. Many times I was getting annoucements after our deadline and couldn’t get them in or space became a problem. Having our calendar online allows us to maximize our space and update it as often as we need to. Have an event you would like to submit??No problem! Visit our calendar under the heading “Your Community” and then “Calendar.”?To the right, there will be a line that reads, “Submit an Event.” Click there and fill in the rest. It’s that easy! You will have to be a member of the Web site to submit, but membership is free and just takes a moment to complete.

***

Speaking of routines, did you find yourself breaking the school year routine over the summer and letting kids stay up later or sleep in later? It’s so easy to get off track with vacations, activities, work schedules and the longer days of summer. But now with school officially beginning, it’s back to early bedtimes and no sleeping in!
The prevailing question at our house as school drew closer and we began shopping for school supplies was, “Who will my teacher be?” and “Who’s going to be in my class?” It seemed like we kept making the trek to school, hoping the list would be up, only to have our hopes dashed. When those questions were finally answered and the lists were posted on the door, my sense of relief was short-lived.?If the lists were up that meant it was unavoidable - school was officially back in session.

The beginning of a school year is always stressful for children. Everything has changed, not just the cool new backpack and fresh school supplies, but also teacher and friends. There’s always the uncertainty of who they will play with at recess or sit with at lunch? Who will they get along with and who they won’t?
Hopefully the transition into a new school year will be as pain-free as possible, and children will get excited about a new year and all the fun it can bring. Hopefully your family can get back to its standard school-year routine without too much distruption. Here’s hoping the 2009-2010 school year is the best it can be!