Dragging out the first day of school
Sep 4, 2008 What's Going On
I spend my days tracking down film and TV productions for my other blog, Filming In Brooklyn. I can do most of the running around during the day, while Pasta Boy and Munchkin are in camp or school. But the past month, between camp and school, has been rough. I’ve hired babysitters a couple of times when there were shoots that I just had to go to, like for Entourage. But for the most part, Filming In Brooklyn had to rely on other websites’ pictures for a few weeks. I’ve taken Pasta Boy along on a couple of shoots, with varying results. Rescue Me went great, because the real firemen on the set let Pasta Boy hang out in a real fire truck for almost the whole time we were here. But that L’Oreal commercial with Andie MacDowell? Not so much.
I mentioned on FIB a couple of times that things would be back to normal in September. Munchkin would be starting Pre-K, and for the first time ever I would have both of my kids in the same school. But I totally forgot about the first week phase-in for the Pre-K classes! Tuesday and Wednesday, she was only there for an hour and fifteen minutes. Thursday will be a little better, it’s a half day. Friday, finally, will be the first full day.
I don’t agree with this method. I know that the first day can be hard on kids (and teachers!) but I like the band-aid approach better: just rip the kids out of your arms, say a gentle but firm goodbye, and leave! Don’t drag it out, it just makes it harder on the kids. Trust me, they get better a few minutes after you leave.
And how do working parents handle this? Once school starts, it should really start, so that parents don’t have to disrupt their entire week. The kids will be fine! I suspect this process developed in a lot of schools because of some parents, who just couldn’t take it. But this is one of those times when I’m going to say, don’t be selfish! If your child is old enough to go to school, then you’re old enough to let her.
Originally posted on Selfish Mom
Tags: Andie MacDowell, Entourage, L'Oreal, pre-k, Rescue Me, school
I agree, it’s a good idea to have a full day right from the start. A lot of primary school teachers love that they don’t have full days in the beginning. In middle school, the students do a full day from the start. Yes the kids are tired,but by the second week they know what to expect and the pattern is already established.
There’s no reason to delay the process. A lot of high schools are now starting off with the half days. These are big kids and they can handle it.
I love that you write about movies being made around here!