Vacations, late nights, sleeping in, and hours of playing video games each day are about to end for many children. These events will soon be replaced with meeting new and old friends, a daily schedule, sports and homework. It happens every year for many kids when school starts. Some children look forward to the new school year. Others wish it would never happen.
August is National Back to School Month and a good time to think about how you might give back to make this the best school year ever for at least one student. Consider the following ways to help and then start thinking of other unique ways you can contribute:
* Donate clothing. If you have children in your house, now would be a great time to find clothes that no longer fit. Donate them to a family in need or local charity. If your kids attend a school that wears uniforms, consider providing the uniforms to the school where they can put them to the best use.
* Be a Tutor. My son is learning things at his age that I was not taught until later years. This is great for those that are able to grasp the concepts. However, there are some that need additional help outside the classroom. Consider being a volunteer tutor.
* Be a Teacher's Aide. Teachers have a significant responsibility. I am thankful for those that teach. They should not have to do it alone. Ask a school or teacher what you can do. It might be helping to organize a room. It might be to support the school library. It might even be to help plan a school event. There are many ways you can contribute your time and be a tremendous help.
* Donate School Supplies. The cost of school supplies can be a major burden on some families. Consider donating money for school supplies or purchasing school supplies that will help one or more of these wonderful families.
* Adopt a College Student. Many college students do not live at home. They do not have the benefit of their own family near them everyday. For most, it is the first time they are away from home and their friends for a significant amount of time. Why don't you "adopt" a college student. Invite him or her to a home-cooked meal from time to time. Provide them a space they can get away from the campus.
The number of ways you can help students during the school year is unlimited. Seriously think about one or more ways you can make a difference in their lives this year. Don't stop at just thinking of a great idea. Make it a reality. The benefits you receive from doing it just might surprise you.
There are some parents who think that the end of summer will give them more freedom. They have been tasked with watching and entertaining their children for a couple of months and feel that they have not had time to take care of personal things in their life the way they do when the schools are in session.
When these parents have hours upon hours to take care of personal tasks on a schedule of their own design, then they feel they have more freedom throughout their day without the children being underfoot. They can choose to do the grocery shopping early and have the lawn manicured late in the afternoon when the children are home from school. The free hours can quickly become very personal.
Some parents even feel that their freedoms are returned on the first day that their children return to school. These parents do not mind that summer is ending or the fact that their children will be in classes all day. They relish the thought of languishing in a hot bath with not a care in the world shortly after they return from driving their kids to school.
They get very excited about the though of being able to catch up on soap operas that they have not viewed throughout the summer. Some Mothers might even schedule a masseuse to visit the home once or twice a week while school is in session to keep their tensions low and make them feel better prepared to deal with several teenagers at once after they returned home by the school bus system.
These parents consider the back to school tasks as a method for gaining control over their lives once again, and the freedoms that they plan to take advantage of might be written on a long list. The freedom deficient parents are the ones that have their analyst on speed dial and the name of the local butcher in the cell phone directory. Wasting precious minutes during the summer is never allowed in this family.
Throughout the summer, the parents will hurriedly take care of doctor's visits and trips to the dentists and they might manage to take their children to the beach or a water park. With the hint of personal freedoms returning just over the horizon, the parents might even create a check-off list to make sure nothing gets in the way of their children returning to school on schedule.
Some parents enjoy parenting so much that they feel that their parental freedoms are violated every time theirs kids must go back to school. Throughout the summer, the neighborhood parents will rarely see the parents anywhere without the kids. The parents have dark tans that match their children because they spent numerous hours on the beach playing volleyball and building castles in the sand.
These parents will go through a period of mourning over the loss of their children's companionship. They might drag their feet on buying school clothes and making sure that all of the doctor's appointments are kept. When they go shopping for school supplies, they will usually get diverted into shopping with their kids for many other things, and put off buying the school supplies until the very last minute.
These parents feel that their freedom returns to them every day when the school bus rounds the corner. Their heart will generally skip a beat every time they hear the voices of their children as they talk with new friends at school that they recently met.
The children might be so absorbed in their new friends and enjoy their new freedoms to play games for hours, that they might forget the parent who has waited all day for them to come home from school. The parent can only wait for that freedom to enjoy the children to return when school lets out again.
Both Roger Carr & Jim Brown are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.