Monday, August 18, 2008

First Day Of School

This is my final day off from work. I took some time off to hang out with my family before school started. My oldest son went to school for the first time today. Of course, we were a little sad to see him go. For the past 5 years, we have been blessed to have him at home with my wife. Since I do not have to go to work until the afternoon, most of our time is spent with the boys. I can't imagine what it will be like when both of them are in school!

I'm very impressed with his teacher so far. The room was decorated nicely with each kid's named strategically placed in various places throughout the room.... on the desk, on the backpack hooks, on the supplies, on the walls, and in the hall. When he arrived this morning, there was a can of Play-D'oh waiting for him. He immediately grabbed it to do some sculpting with a little nervous grin on his face.

Teachers are special people with huge responsibilities. They care for our kids, mold their minds for the future, and help them grow into young men and women. While they have a huge responsibility, we as parents also need to do OUR part, too. I'm going to challenge myself to invest time each day to my kid's education.

School lets out in a couple of hours. I can't wait to hear about his first day of school!

Take care,

Ryan

PS- How often should a parent go to lunch with their kid? Since I do not go to work until the afternoon, I can go whenever. Is once every 2 weeks too much? Once a month? Thoughts?

14 comments:

David said...

I go once a week! My reasoning for that is that before you know it it will not be cool for us(parents) to do go to lunch with them. Get the time with them every chance you get!!!!!

Anonymous said...

ok.. I'm mad. Why didn't I get play doh when I started school!? lol. That was a LONG time ago when I was in school. lol. As for the lunch... I'd say maybe once a month. You generally want to give him freedom. My cousin just started school and I wanted to have lunch with him (me and him are best buddies even if we are 20 years apart. lol) and I was told by the teacher (that I had oddly enough growing up) that once a month is plenty.. give him some space is what I guess I'm saying. Good luck! Oh... did you cry?

Karen H. said...

Well, since we have 2 girls and they are both in School now, I know too well the feeling of them both being in School and me left at home. To me, it was really lonely at first, but you do get used to it. Did your Son start Kindergarten today? I remember when our girls started Kindergarten. The Teacher's have the rooms fixed up so neat for the kids and had their names everywhere. At the end of the year, they got to bring those name tags home with them. As far as how many times to go eat lunch with him, it all depends. Since he is just starting out, maybe once a week until he got used to being at School. After that, then maybe every 2 weeks or so. Our girls started back today also. Our oldest daughter started 7th grade and she wanted one of us to go with her this morning. I went with her, but after she got in there and saw some of her classmates from last year, she went on about her business, so I left. She was a little nervous. I told her it's probably like starting Kindergarten. Our youngest daughter is in the 5th grade this year, so she is still in Upper Elementary. She is still used to that, but I know in a couple of years, she will be nervous about going into Junior High as well. Always be there for your kids and support them when they get older and want to participate in sports. That is what I have done. Good Luck and May God Bless You and Your Wife and your 2 Son's.

Karen Horton
Caraway, AR

Anonymous said...

Oh Lordy,what a sad memory booster this was....for me it was 33 years ago I watched my only child march off to school,to the big world beckoning her to `who knew what adventures.
She was awed and a little bit frightened of what mysteries laid before her.
The we spotted a little girl standing all alone with tears running down her face.
Well`my little cherub seen her need and befriended her right away....with her own trepidation gone.
LOL.I`then returned home where I cried the rest of the day til she came in with her exciting stories of new found friends and excitement.
Thanks Ryan, this memo sure put me on a memory lane roll, and yes I can smile now....

Anonymous said...

I miss that little booger. I'll stop by and eat lunch with him from time to time as well. I hope he has a bunch of good stories from today!!

MTWC said...

Well at least when they get into more advanced high school science a long way from now you can help them. One of the many advantages of having a meteorologist as your dad!

Anonymous said...

I have memories of my dad NEVER coming to school for ANYTHING. Not once. Never. Not that he couldn't, he just always had "better" things to do. He even coomplained about having to come to my graduate school graduation on a Saturday becaue he wanted to play golf. Yes, he thought I should have University of Missouri-Columbia reschedule their graduate school ceremonies for his golf game.
I am 50 years old, and all that still makes me sad.
SOOOO...I said all that to tell you that I think you should go eat lunch with your child at school quite often, and maybe even see if you can also say a few kind words to some other child that has dud dad like I had. Both children will remember your interest and kindness, and grow up healthier emotionally.

Anonymous said...

As an elementary teacher, I had several parents come once a week and I think that would be great. Especially since Shad is used to seeing you every morning for hours. Now your work will begin about the time his homework ends. LOL. A good teacher won't mind once a week and you should volunteer in the classroom as often as possible. Kindergarten only happens once and kindergartners are notorious for holding nothing back, so trust me, he'll let you know if you are ruining his rep or cramping his style by coming too often. HeeHee

Anonymous said...

The First Day of School at the Vaughan's looks like it went off without a hitch! Nice!

Have you asked Shad what he thinks about how often you should come for lunch? That might help you come up with a good feeling for how often to go, especially after all the quality input you've had here.

Yesterday was the first day for the brand new high school outside of Melbourne. It's the product of Mt. Pleasant and Melbourne's consolidation. The new school is pretty nice (more modern) and as a result has attracted a lot of kids from surrounding schools. All the new faces made the teachers pretty nervous about the first day, too! :-D

Anonymous said...

As you seem to already understand, you only get one childhood for your son to let him know how much you love him. I vote for you to sit down with him, tell him how interested you are in sharing his school experience, and ask him if there are specific days he might like you to come eat lunch with him. I bet he comes up with some days and activities he would like to share.

Anonymous said...

You get to be the cool dad who is on tv. What kid wouldn't want to show off their dad who is on tv every day? I think once a week is fine. Ask the teacher if you can come by every so often for "weather lessons". Little kids love hands on stuff!

Anonymous said...

I used to be a PreK teacher and I think that you should have lunch with your child or children at least every two weeks or once a week if you can. You do not want your youngest child to feel alone since it is his first year of school.

Anonymous said...

I think you should go once a week. Your child will be grown before you know it and you will miss those days. Plus I was a Pre K teacher and the students that had parents have lunch with them once a week had a much better week. Meaning academically, behavior, and working well with others.

Anonymous said...

Go every day if you can. They will sure grow up fast before you know it. Our oldest grandson lives with us & is in Jr.High this year in school. And if it was aloud by the school I would be sitting there right beside him every day. Enjoy the little things you can do with them every chance you get.