School's Out!

"School's out for the summer/ School's out forever!" - "School's Out" by Alice Cooper

Funny, this song had a much different meaning when I was the one in school. Now I'm the adult taking care of children will not be in school for nearly three months. I remember hearing this song on the way home from my last day of high school. Man, I was so excited I could hardly stand it! This was my anthem that whole school year. Now, it will just seem like school is out forever.

Don't get me wrong, I love the girls I work with more than I can even put into words, but being with them for 50-55 hours a week is going to be exhausting! I have written up extensive lesson plans that cover seven subjects that we will tackle every day, plus I have a ton of ideas for extra stuff if we have time. Then there is also their swim team, gymnastics, and the occasional violin lesson. Wait a minute. Why did I ever think we would have extra time?! We will also take two field trips a week. Do you think I may be a bit too ambitious? I figure that I did it last year when they were only 3 and 5, so why not kick it up a notch this year?

Rest assured, I'm not going to work these poor kids to death all summer with hours upon hours of boring schoolwork. The vast majority of my lessons are taught through play or experimentation, and I am making a point to give them plenty of rest and free play time every day, way more than they get during the school year.

So, that will be my summer for the most part. I do have a couple of weeks off that I hope will give me a lot of time to write, because I am really going to miss working on my writing. As Bruce Willis's character Joe said in "Bandits", 'There's never enough time when you're working...'