First Day of School

Friday was the first day of school.  Why Friday?  It's because the Florida legislature said that August 10 is the earliest day public schools are allowed to start, so this year it was a Friday.  Counties set their own calendars, so not everyone started on Friday;  many waited until at least Monday.  Everyone has to have 180 student attendance days, so start time, end time, and days off may vary, but all students have to go to school the same amount.  The Friday start was a bit confusing for sure, but it was awesome to get a weekend so fast!  The other advantage I found was that it took a lot of pressure off me to have everything perfectly ready since we would immediately have 2 days to take care of any other last-minute details.

Rachel started high school and found the first day "boring", but this week will definitely pick up, especially with band practice after school at least 2 days.

Hannah likes her new 5th grade teachers and loved her new position as "Officer" in the Safety Patrol.  She, and the other two officers get to raise and lower the flag each day and check in with various areas to see if anyone is absent and where fill-in is needed.

Justin doesn't start his classes until August 21, so he spent a good part of the day sleeping.  Steve said to let him enjoy it;  he has enough time to have to get up early and work for the rest of his life......

My niece started kindergarten and her sister started preschool.  My nephew starting kindergarten is in another county and starts Monday.  His brothers will be in school 5 days a week at two other schools starting soon.  Apparently, the tears are flowing freely.  We'll all get used to it in time, but the years go fast, so enjoy!

My Oviedo nephews started 2nd and 3rd grades, so I am excited to hear reports from them as well.

My older niece and nephew are still in high school, although my senior nephew plans to accelerate his graduation and get to working.  My other niece graduated two years before Justin and now is the proud mommy of a 6 month old boy.  I don't see these nieces and nephew as often, but by all reports are doing well.

What is your school calendar like?  What are the pros and cons for your family?  Comment below, and subscribe above to be alerted to the latest posts and comments from The Vulnerable Mom.

Matthew 25:34 (NIV)

"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

Blessings!
Jenny

Getting Ready For Back to School - Are You Ready?

Getting Ready For Back to School

I know that many of you have a whole month left before school starts.  LUCKY!!  Here in Florida, the legislature decided that the school was allowed to start on August 10th each year, but not before.  So, guess when our county starts?  You guessed it, Friday, August 10, 2018.  At least it will be a short week! :-)

I have a love/hate relationship with back to school.  In reality, I love it, always have, always will.  I have a weird thing for office and school supplies.  I guess that's why I became an elementary school teacher.  I do like the structure.  I just hate the pressure and the extreme schedule.  I hate grades.

I quit working after I went back for a month after my first child and realized that I personally couldn't give 100% to both and wasn't happy with that.  It was a bit boring at first, but I guarantee that didn't last for long.  Still, I found ways to fulfill my teaching bug and have always kept up with what's going on in education, especially the county my husband and I and now my kids have grown up in. 

So, for those of you that don't think running around to store after store in search of door-busting back to school deals, here are some options that you can get delivered right to your home. 

Elmer's Disappearing Purple Washable Gluesticks - 12 ct.

Elmer's Washable Disappearing Purple School Glue, 6 Giant Sticks (1 pkg)

Elmer's 4 oz Liquid School Glue - 12 bottles

Elmer's 4 oz Liquid School Glue - 3 bottles

EXPO Black Dry Erase Markers, 8 Count Pack, Chisel Tip (Low-Odor)

Expo Low Odor Dry Erase Markers, Chisel Tip, Assorted Colors, 8 ct

EXPO Magnetic Dry Erase Markers with Eraser, Chisel Tip, Black, 4-Count

Crayola Ultra-Clean Washable Markers - 8 ct. 

Crayola 8ct Washable Tropical Colors Conical Tip

Crayola Crayons (24 Count), Crayola Colored Pencils in Assorted Colors (12 Count), Crayola (10ct) Classic Fine Line Markers, and Crayola (10ct) Classic Broad Line Markers Holiday Bundle

 

 

Crayola 8 ct. Crayons - Pack of 12

Crayola 16 ct. Classic Color Crayons - 2 pk
Crayola crayons (24 count) - 2 pack

Paper Mate InkJoy Gel Pens, Medium Point, Black, 4 Count


BIC BU3 Grip Retractable Ball Pen, Medium Point (1.0 mm), Assorted Colors, 18-Count
BIC Round Stic Xtra Life Ballpoint Pen, Medium Point (1.0mm), Blue, 60-Count
BIC Round Stic Xtra Life Ballpoint Pen, Medium Point (1.0mm), Red, 10-Count

Mead Loose Leaf Paper, Filler Paper, Wide Ruled, 200 Sheets, 10-1/2" x 8", 3 Hole Punched, 1 Pack

Five Star Loose Leaf Paper, 3 Hole Punched, Reinforced Filler Paper, Wide Ruled, 10-1/2" x 8", 100 Sheets/Pack

Five Star Loose Leaf Paper, 3 Hole Punched, Reinforced Filler Paper, College Ruled, 11" x 8-1/2", 100 Sheets/Pack, 4 Pack

Ticonderoga Wood-Cased My First Pencils, 2 HB Soft, Pre-Sharpened, With Eraser, Includes Bonus Sharpener, Yellow, 4 Count (33309)

Dixon Ticonderoga Wood-Cased #2 HB Pencils, Box of 96, Yellow

AmazonBasics Pre-sharpened Wood Cased #2 HB Pencils, 30 Pack

Pre-sharpened pencils, Pencils Sharpened with eraser top, #2 HB pencil, 144/box.

TOPS 1-Subject Notebooks, Spiral, 8" x 10-1/2", Wide Rule, Color Assortment May Vary, 70 Sheets, 3 Pack
Mead Spiral Notebooks, 1 Subject, College Ruled Paper, 70 Sheets, 10-1/2" x 7-1/2", Assorted Colors, 6 Pack
TOPS 1-Subject Notebooks, Spiral, 8" x 10-1/2", College Rule, Color Assortment May Vary, 70 Sheets, 6 Pack
Five Star Spiral Notebook, 1 Subject, Graph Ruled Paper, 100 Sheets, 11" x 8-1/2" (4 Pack Bundle, 13 Color Selected For You)
Emraw 5 Subject Notebook Spiral with 180 Sheets of College Ruled White Paper - Set Includes: Red, Black, Purple, & Blue Covers (Random 3 Pack)
Five Star Spiral Notebook, 3 Subject, College Ruled Paper, 150 Sheets, 11" x 8-1/2", Color Selected For You

Discovery Cove

Since Justin is in Ireland and this isn't his thing, we took the opportunity to take the girls to Discovery Cove.  What a fun day!  Surprisingly, the dolphin encounter wasn't as scary as I thought it would be.  We even all kissed her! 

My cough was still lingering, and I am a total chicken, so I skipped the snorkel and mask, but enjoyed the Grand Reef from the shallow water.  Even the big stingray came up close!  The girls loved the snorkels and used them in the (nice and warm!) Wind-Away River with Steve.  After one trip around, I opted for a life jacket so I could just float. 

The aviary was so cool with lots of different species of birds and plenty of food to offer them.  We saw the marmosets in the Freshwater Oasis, but the otters were in hiding.  It, too, was wonderfully warm! 

The food, the experiences, everything included....we loved it!

Unexpected

This week has been really hard and really wonderful all at the same time.  On Monday night, we all found out that my last living grandmother, my Dad's mom, had passed away suddenly and unexpectedly.  I was already dreading the emotions that were sure to come the next day when I attended my friend's memorial service.  At this point, I said, "just forget it....I'm not going.". 


We were all really shocked as Grandma (who lives in a co-op near Minneapolis, MN), though 86, had just spent time with much of the family and was in good health.  She stayed up watching the Vikings game with her friends and apparently got up in the middle of the night and collapsed.  No one was prepared.




My sister called the next morning to make sure that I knew about my friend's passing as we hadn't talked about it.  She encouraged me to go to the memorial service.  I'm glad I did.  I bawled through the whole thing, but it gave me some of the closure I needed and a chance to show support. 


I went to Mom and Dad's afterward and spent the next 10+ hours with them and planning our trip to Minnesota from Florida.  It helped me to talk about things and to have a mission. 


The next day, I spent long hours preparing for our trip among the normal drop off and pick up of the kids.  Again, the busyness was both exhausting and distracting.  It was to be our first trip to this branch of our family since 2004.  Back then, Justin was 4, Rachel a baby, and Hannah not even born.  This would be her first flight.  There would definitely be snow.  Justin didn't want to leave his friends.  A lot of emotion was swirling.  Not much sleep was happening.  The adventure would continue in the morning.