Today is the first day of school around here. By around here, I mean in the town around my house. Inside our house, we still have a few weeks of summer left to be lazy and ease into the fast paced schedule of the academic year. Rocket's preschool is old school; they've kept the traditional start date of the first day after Labor Day. But even that seems early compared to the hippie school, which doesn't begin until the week after that. Clover's first day of school is Sept. 14.
I used to joke that the hippie school bases it's start date on the phases of the moon or that they don't start until after the harvest, because people are always shocked when I tell them that our summer break is a full three months, from mid-June to mid-September. It's easier to answer with a joke than the truth, which is that the hippie school's start is much wiser.I can pack our summer full of camp and outings, knowing that we always end up with an island of time at the end of break allowing us to unwind before another year begins. When the other kids go back to school, there's no waiting for a swing at the park, vacation places are open, parking is plentiful, and best of all, back to school stuff is on clearance.
Despite having plenty of vacation time left, we're not immune to the stress of those around us getting back into the school routines. The shock of waking up early will be followed by the drudgery of homework, all bemoaned on Facebook. Our schedule shifts too, as Fall sports begin and other extra curriculars move to later times to accommodate school schedules. The difference is that we get to take baby steps into the school year.
Now to plan a day trip to Muir Woods.
