Back to school already? Aw cm'on!

Durn it, the days are getting shorter. Is it almost time for going back to school?  We can’t be counting down already. Well the sad news is yes, it is true. It is mid-August. Our television is screaming about magic markers and the mail from schools has begun.

But even if we parents know that numerically, the start of school is just around the corner, our children are generally unaware of how large it looms. There are more than a few signs that they indeed might inwardly be getting ready.

If the bells of the ice cream truck don’t cause a panicked, frantic cry and your child’s little legs can’t hold one more mosquito bite, your children may be telling you that yes they internally may be getting ready for the start of school.

Here are a few hints to help the children ease into the school mentality.

1. Break out the books. You, yourself get engrossed in a book, let those kids get jealous of seeing you reading.
2. Turn off the TV for like a week. (The Olympics are over, after all.)
3. Turn off the air conditioning at night and listen to the bugs chirp.
4. Make bedtimes a little earlier. (Summer is simply exhausting, and yes the days are shorter.)
5. Take a trip to the store and spend an unusually long time in the school supply and lunchbox aisle.

And when you’ve done all that. Go out and make a memory. Have a picnic, go to a ballgame, or make a bonfire and enjoy these last dogged days before that bell tolls.

And don’t forget the s’mores!

-Susan Gentile Hackett