The 2024-2025 school year is officially upon us! We are reminded of that in back to school commercials and when shopping at WalMart and Target! As I struggled for a welcome back to school message for my own group of parents, I remembered a blog post I did three years ago. It was the funniest article, titled The Crushing Reality Of The Second Day Of School. The article featured side-by-side photos of a young boy who was all smiles for his first day of school and all frowns for his second day of school. Just that quickly, the novelty of fresh school supplies, new haircuts, cool new outfits, and reunions with friends had worn off. What was even funnier was a reader’s comment, which stated, “would love to see first and second day of school teacher photos!” Yep…. I imagine a lot of teacher’s photos would look a lot like this little boys!

Every first day of school brings a whole lot of smiles. Summer has worn off, vacations have come to an end, and restlessness is at an all time high. Students are eager to get back to school to show off their new outfits, re-connect with old friends, and possibly make some new ones. Studies are the furthest thing from their minds. As teachers, we have had some time off to rest, refresh, and re-connect with why we became teachers in the first place. For some of us, we look forward to reconnecting with our students while others look forward to their new batch of students. We have spent time preparing wonderful activities and lesson plans to make the school year as fun and engaging as possible. But, for every first day of school, there is a second day of school…. and a third, and a fourth, and a fifth…. you get the picture!

So here are some friendly reminders to get us (students, teachers, parents, grandparents, and care providers) through the second day of school and the rest of the school year like it was the first! The key is getting back into your school/work routine now. Don’t wait until the night before the first day to do that. Guilty as charged!!!

For all of us,

• Get back to going to bed early. Set up your bedtime and wake-up routine now.
• Prepare the night before: lunch, clothes, backpacks, homework, school papers, etc.
• Have a central location for everything that is school related.

For the parents,

• Get to know your student’s new teacher.
• Update medical records, home address if it has changed, and phone numbers.
• Inform teacher of anything new (changes in medicines, seizure activity, etc.).
• Ask/talk with your student about concerns, fears, anxiety, etc.

For the teachers,

• Start the year with a firm (not mean) hand, and ease off later.
• Establish rules at the beginning.
• Decide which routines and procedures you will have in place at the start.
• Update your substitute binder now.
• Have your first week (or two) of lesson plans ready to go.

For all of us,

• Be flexible!!!
• Be humble!!!
• Smile!!!
• Maintain a sense of humor!!!
• Start again!!! Each day is a new day. Give yourself a fresh start, give your teacher a fresh start, and give your students a fresh start each day.

So, as we welcome the new school year and the many challenges we will face as educators, as parents, and as students, let us strive to make every day of school as if it was the first day!

Do you have any tips to add?