It Happens …cogitations on calamities, cataclysms and catastrophes, preventing, preparing and pulling through.
Are you in “the zone”? The school zone? Heads up everyone, it is back to school time! Whether you go to public, private, home, charter school or university in your family, it’s time to shake out the uniforms and school clothes, get the lunch boxes ready and kindly remind your children and yourself that summer break is over. Disaster Prevention Tip: This may be a conversation best had over double scoops of ice cream.
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For parents and guardians, the number of things on the to-do list likely seems to be growing by the minute. Just google “back to school time checklist”, you will instantly see everything from “get immunizations and physicals” and “audit previous year’s supplies” to “set up a shared family calendar”. A bit overwhelmed? Easing your children into the new school year may just make your life run a little more smoothly.
Re-set sleep and wake times: as much as the young ones would like to stay up late enjoying the last of their summer nights, heading to bed 1-2 hours earlier per night until you reach the target school year bedtime can help re-set your child’s circadian rhythm. Keeping screens dim and on “nightshift” or “nightlight” for at least an hour before bedtime will signal the brain that it’s time to get sleepy. Darken bedrooms for all of the hours needed for sleep. When it’s time to wake up, let the sunshine in! These suggestions can be helpful for everyone in your household, if you are well-rested, you very well may have more patience with well-rested but grumpy children who just don’t want to get up and head to school.
Taking a few back to school pictures is a must for many families, it is a wonderful way to document your children’s milestones. If you will post any of these pictures online, here are some things to think about:
• Not safe: having your child hold a sign that includes his/her name, school name, teacher names, favorite subject and sport/club/activity that he or she is excited about.
• Better: hold a sign saying the grade and pick one: favorite subject or the favorite sport/club/activity.
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Heading off to college or university? Congratulations! Since you are now adults finding your own way, I have very little to tell you except: eat, sleep, hydrate and get outside in the fresh air as often as possible! Those four “easy” things will help you learn, retain what you have learned, and also prevent some of the stress that you will experience from becoming catastrophic. And don’t forget to call your Mother and Father once in awhile, they miss you.
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Not a parent of school age children or a currently enrolled college student? This post is for you as well! For every driver in a city, town or rural area, whether or not “back to school time” applies to you and your family, school zone speed limits and school bus rules of the road do apply to you. Adjust your drive times to account for school zones on your usual routes and slow down. Most school zones in cities are 25mph, if you have a hard time driving 25, use your cruise control. Some school zone ends are not clearly marked, continue at 25mph until you see a different speed limit sign with a higher limit.
Caveat: if you are well past the school and any parked buses and have not seen a posted “resume speed limit sign”, resume a safe driving speed in order not to obstruct traffic. For more on speed limits, see the Missouri Driver’s Guide, page 50. Always be aware of school buses. There are many rules governing sharing the road with school buses, the most important is: when the bus is stopped and you see the stop sign arm out on the driver’s side, you MUST STOP if you are behind the bus or if you are in the oncoming lanes and there is no median separating the two sides of the road. The Missouri Driver’s Guide, page 23 gives all the details on rules of the road regarding school buses.*
*Note to readers: I had not looked at the Missouri Driver’s Guide in…a very long time. I learned a lot about what is and what is not allowed for Missouri drivers these days. It was quite enlightening, I suggest it’s a good time for all of us to go back to school and review this handy little book.
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Can you believe that’s all I’ve got for you this month? No Shakespeare quotes, Yeats or Homer. That’s right…I’m challenging the three of you who have read this far to go pick up a book and find your own inspiration for the beginning of the academic year, whether or not you are a current scholar.
By Shayna Deitchman, AmeriCorps Disaster Case Manager
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