Last week, college students returned to our local university, and this week marked Back to School for elementary, middle school, and high school students in our area.
In fact, at the end of August and the beginning of September, just under 80 million students, kindergarten through grad school, head back to the classroom.
The National Retail Federation says that the parents with K-12 children will spend an average of $688.62 to get a youngster ready for school. That number increases to an average of $907.22 for college students. Let us hope that all those school supplies, clothes and electronics pay off in a job rather than a futon in the parents’ basement!
Empty wallets aside, there is something invigorating about this time of year. Maybe it’s the promise of the pristine notebooks, Number 2 pencils, and fresh crayons lining the store aisles; maybe it’s the return to a regular routine; or maybe it’s the blessed quiet that takes over the house as the kids wave goodbye from the school bus window.
As children’s novelist Bill Dodds once said: “Labor Day is a glorious holiday because your child will be going back to school the next day. It would have been called Independence Day, but that name was already taken.”
The team at Matchmaker is seeing children of all ages (pre-school to college) off to school. Here’s Mary’s youngest, Timothy, on his first day of kindergarten. Mary says: “He was so excited about going to school, and he looked so cute waiting for the bus. However, the bus forgot to come down our road, so I ended up taking him to school that day. Luckily, the school bus driver hasn’t forgotten him since!”
I imagine that every parent and every teacher has great stories to tell about kids and school. One of my favorites comes from a first-grade teacher who was telling her students the story of Chicken Little. She got to the part when Chicken Little ran up to the Farmer saying, “The sky is falling. The sky is falling.” Then the teacher paused and asked the kids what they thought the farmer said in reply. One little girl raised her hand. The teacher called on her, and the little girl then said, “I think the farmer said: ‘Holy cow, a talking chicken’!”
Enjoy the long weekend,
~Bob
P.S. Remember that August 31st is the last day to enter our Cute Pooch Competition!
