Is anyone else feeling totally overwhelmed with back to school?

[theMoreDisneytheBetter]

Kids start tomorrow and I'm already totally overwhelmed trying to juggle sports, school/tutoring, and scouts for both kids. And work...can't forget about that.

DD really wanted to do competitive cheerleading on top of dance and gymnastics, but I finally had to admit that I couldn't make it all work (in part due to our vacation schedule). Hopefully I can find a less intense program for her.

Less than 3 months until Disney. We can hold on until then.

 

[Turn the Page]

Nope. This is actually the calm time of year for us.

My older 2 started back to school yesterday and DS4 starts preschool Monday. I start my winter job part time next week and slowly ramp up until we open hopefully around Thanksgiving. That's when we get busier at our house until spring when it tapers off a bit then a super hectic summer.

I revel in the fall. I work part time which is good for my emotional and mental health and, consequently, good for the family as a whole.

Monday will be the first day in 4 1/2 years I will have an entire day at the house alone. I don't know what I'll do with myself.

Yes, I do. I'll sit in the recliner with a cup of tea and my book and nobody is going to bug me. That's what I'll do.

 

[tvguy]

Nope. This is actually the calm time of year for us.

My older 2 started back to school yesterday and DS4 starts preschool Monday. I start my winter job part time next week and slowly ramp up until we open hopefully around Thanksgiving. That's when we get busier at our house until spring when it tapers off a bit then a super hectic summer.

I revel in the fall. I work part time which is good for my emotional and mental health and, consequently, good for the family as a whole.

Monday will be the first day in 4 1/2 years I will have an entire day at the house alone. I don't know what I'll do with myself.

Yes, I do. I'll sit in the recliner with a cup of tea and my book and nobody is going to bug me. That's what I'll do.

My kids are grown and out of the house, but this was my experience also. Back to a routine where I had time to myself. But I worked graveyard shift, so I slept during the day. No kids making noise, no friends over playing video games and making noise. Peace and quiet.
OP your schools start late. District I live in went back a month ago today. One district nearby went back the third week of July.

 

[superme80]

Insanely stressed. We homechool, so I am teaching 8th grade, 6th grade, and 3rd grade. I also need to start getting things ready to teach my oldest for high school next year. I need to do a lot of research for that. Also I am teaching 2 classes for the co-op we are part of. On top of that my kids are doing 3 dance classes this semester.

 

[DizneyFamof4]

Your just starting tomorrow, wow. Our DD's have been back for a month already and truthfully it was a very calm transition. Our DD's were ready and so were we for school to begin. We limit the extracurriculars so that they have time for studying and family, and it's also less stressful on them. Of course they do not realize that. LOL My DH and I split the taxi driving and our oldest DD also has stepped up to take her younger sister sometimes. Our youngest is doing ballet and dance and our oldest is in her senior year and is just doing flag football and a youth club. She wanted to really concentrate on her classes because she is also taking 3 online classes.

 

[unrequited23]

This is my kids third week back and I am just starting to feel like I'm in the new school year groove. It's taken longer since my oldest started at the middle school and the youngest is at the elementary school.

 

[TheOneWithTheTriplets]

I'm losing my darn mind, but it was self inflicted. We were in Disney for 11 days with a Sunday flight home; school started Tuesday.

When we left, class assignments hadn't been released, so I couldn't label supplies with child/teacher name as instructed. Sunday afternoon and Monday, I was just prioritizing everything that absolutely had to happen before back to school, and the rest of the post vacation "stuff" had to wait. Just now feeling like I've dug out a bit.

I have triplets in 3 different classes, and this year one has MacNeal and one McDonough. My Disney addled brain has been mixing that up constantly as I try to get used to the new routine. Couldn't they have given me less similar teacher names? LOL!

 

[DisneyOma]

I used to get stressed until I had the kids pick one activity and one sport a year (or season if it ran like that) and that limit worked very well for us. Kids need time to breathe, have unscheduled play, and do nothing at all.

My motto - if it's stressful, don't do it.

 

[tcufrog]

My older son is in the marching band, which is a lot of work around here. In fact, it's more of a time commitment than football.

 

[Southernmiss]

I used to get stressed until I had the kids pick one activity and one sport a year (or season if it ran like that) and that limit worked very well for us. Kids need time to breathe, have unscheduled play, and do nothing at all.

My motto - if it's stressful, don't do it.

This. Especially the elementary, middle school years.

With 4 kids and jobs and church that was plenty to keep up with.

 

[theMoreDisneytheBetter]

I know we are over scheduled. I just don’t know what to drop.

 

[mrodgers]

Sorry no one ever likes to hear this but... it sounds all self induced.

 

[QueenIsabella]

Well, this week I'm feeling stressed--my minivan went into the shop for minor body work, so I'm driving a crappy rental until tomorrow. I really don't care for it, but I can get through!

This semester is going to be a drag for me--my youngest doesn't have his license yet, but he's taking a college course. So, he gets out of HS early (needs to be picked up), then has to be taken to the college 4 days a week, because the little snot accidently tested into a higher level of calculus than we expected. He also has Scouts and dance two nights a week, and violin lessons. So, I spend way too much time schlepping him hither and yon. Kid needs his license, but then we'll need another car.

On the good side, his autistic older brother is showing strides into independence--he has a job, after that he takes a class (same campus as the younger one--their sister, DD19, also goes there). He's gotten adept at using the ATM and the drive-thru--life skills that "normal" kids take for granted. But, he still needs a parent with him for things like doctor's appointments.

 

[theMoreDisneytheBetter]

Sorry no one ever likes to hear this but... it sounds all self induced.

100,000% for sure.

 

[zebrastreyepz]

It's OK to say "no" to things. It might seem mean, and in the short run, it will even feel mean...but in the long term, everyone's mental health is stronger from not being overcommitted to outside activities.

We allowed our kids ONE outside activity that took place past school hours. When my boys were young, it was Scouts and then Drama.

With our granddaughter, she did band (mainly in school except for 2 concerts a year) and drama (which occurred both in school and after school for a couple of months in the fall) until she had to make a choice in 8th grade between the two because the outside time was insane.

It's OK to set a more peaceful pace and tone for your home and your life.

 

[JaxDad]

Not overwhelmed, but our carpool plan had to be scrapped within a week when one of the students made a sports team, and his mom accepted a new job with less flexibility. It feels haphazard now, but I’m sure we’ll settle into something more regular. I’m happy for the student and his mom, so it’s all good.

 

[Moliphino]

I don't have kids, so I'm just annoyed at the increased traffic in the morning on my way to work now.

 

[Colleen27]

I'm that "most wonderful time of the year" mom. This is when I finally get back to routines and start feeling like I'm accomplishing something because I'm no longer trying to balance my to-do list with the demands of a 14yo who is alternately running from activity to activity and bored with the lack of structure of summer break. I'm terrible at time management without some sort of structure/routine to our days so while I adore the freedom of summer, getting back to the externally-imposed schedule of the school year comes as a bit of a relief.

We had a Disney trip over the holiday weekend, flew home Monday and started school on Tuesday with two half days. Today was the first full day of the year and I worked a solid 6 hours, clearing out a whole room of my late mother's house, without a single interruption before I had to get home to drive DD14 to D&D club. It was lovely, really.

 

[tvguy]

The big issue here for Junior High and High School students this year is the state passed a law that pushed back the start of the school day so the kids get more sleep. It has messed up a lot of car pools and after school programs

 

[scrapquitler]

Kids start tomorrow and I'm already totally overwhelmed trying to juggle sports, school/tutoring, and scouts for both kids. And work...can't forget about that.

DD really wanted to do competitive cheerleading on top of dance and gymnastics, but I finally had to admit that I couldn't make it all work (in part due to our vacation schedule). Hopefully I can find a less intense program for her.

Less than 3 months until Disney. We can hold on until then.

Things do get crazy around back to school time. However, if you are feeling overwhelmed, it's okay to scale back the number of after school activities that your kids are in.