EDUCATION MATTERS—SANFORD SCHOOL'S PRIVATE SCHOOL BLOG

Children can learn to manage their own materials; a life skill that is important for future success.

Labor Day weekend is upon us. It has long been described as the Sunday night of summer. It marks the season of change, with fall and a new school year on the horizon.

This time of the year reminds me of the summer grass. Some days dry and tired from the sun, unsure which is best: water or shade, likely both. Rest surely required, but sometimes not found. The reverberating laughter of the summer days well lived is still heard, and while days are reminiscent of the family van clad with the turtle top, there is a new quiet that enters and competes for loudest sound: catalogs with backpacks and sports apparel, new-fangled lunch accessories, latest trends and all the reminders of the outside world with hints of shiny, new schedules and adventures beyond our summer days that lure us to inch near. It is a time that is nostalgic of the sweetest summer lived and already longed for, but a constant pull to stay here and be present while planning what is to come.

 While embracing the remaining dog days of summer, it is inevitable that we need to prepare for our new schedules of the school year ahead.As parents, this sometimes is a far too daunting task. While we collect tips and tricks from trial and error like the shells once collected in July on family days by the ocean, we often forget that none of this needs to be done alone. Change is hard and adjusting to new schedules takes time and patience.