Thanks Back to School Helpers

It is that time of year when we teachers need to spend a moment to thank those people who are the back-to-school helpers. Those who help and support us as we make the shift to ready our classrooms.

Summer Self

Back to school time transforms me. During the summer I am a full-time wife and mommy who organizes activities and keeps everyone busy, a domestic goddess who gets everything done around the house and a conqueror of all the to-do list tasks and errands. Also, add to the list a slight exaggerator… but who is keeping up?!

Once school starts, I quickly become a nonexistent wife who does a kiss and run from the hubs to my next location, a form filling out, homework helping mommy who has to remember when kids need sneakers or gymnastics attire, a wrecked home gal who desperately wants clean clothes that don’t need to be ironed, and a woman who only adds to the to-do list.

The Demands of the Start of the School Year

It is true. The demands of a teacher during the first month of school are overwhelming. First, even if you do the work over the summer you still have more to do. Then, even if you try to be the most efficient employee at school, you still feel behind. And even if you have taught this grade before, the workload is never easier.

Thank goodness for my back-to-school helper! I hope and pray we all have someone in our lives who is a supporter of our passion, who knows how hard we work, and who pick up the slack for us when they can. Here is to them and how thankful we all are as teachers.

Thanks for taking care of the kids on their first day of school

As a teacher, I rarely get to walk my own kid to class on their first day since I welcome in my new students. This task is usually left to the spouse or family member who can take care of it.

My husband takes both of our kids to school on the first day, which is the only day all year this usually occurs. He comes by my classroom to get the “sign” I create for the first day of school so I can give my little S one last kiss and good luck wish. He takes the pictures and sends them to me.
Thank you.

(You can grab the collection of freebie signs here.)

Thanks for letting us work late without a complaint

I work late after the first day of school. And I mean, really really late. It doesn’t matter how hard I work getting ready for the school year, once the kids hit the classroom, every teacher quickly sees what will work and what needs to be changed as soon as possible.

Maybe this is because I always add a new student or three on the first day of school as well. And since we get no breaks or lunch away from the kids on the first day, I have to fix up their spots with their names quickly.

Additionally, I have to sort and store all those supplies. That alone is no easy task.

My sweet hubs knows I am not coming home early. He expects it. I get a hug and a kiss and a sweet smile when I do get home. Then, I usually fall asleep without eating dinner in pure exhaustion. Thanks for understanding and letting me sleep. It means the world to me.

The Tedious Tasks

In addition to our teacher workload, my county gave all the teachers a list of 4 online safety modules to complete in the month of August. (These take the place of faculty meetings so I didn’t mind, but I wanted them DONE.)

So… I came home after the first day LATE, took a shower, and wanted to tackle my to-do list and safely modules, and SLEEP. In steps my back-to-school helper again!

Thanks for taking care of the kids after the first day of school

My husband took the kids to dinner and to Target to let me finish what I needed to do. And he kept it very fun for them… as only a daddy can do. Then, I got a picture so I could see them and not feel bad about doing what I needed to do.

The best news was… I got to spend all of Saturday and Sunday with the whole family since I was done working. My mood was better because I did some serious damage to that to-do list so my stress was lower.

Thanks for keeping your eyes out for the school treasures I need

After teaching for 12 (plus) years, my back-to-school helper knows the things I need all the time. When he sees clearance scissors, he grabs them. I often get a text from him asking if he needs to grab something he might think I need. I hate shopping so this is a HUGE HUGE HUGE help. I am so blessed to have someone who knows THIS is my love language.

Thanks for looking for the things I desperately want for my classroom

Then, I found these ABC pasta from another blogger on Instagram. (It was Primary Graffiti.) So, what do I do? I screenshot it and sent it to the hubs. He kept his eyes out for it each and every time he went to the store… and came home with some the next week. THANKS, honey.

My back to school helper makes me look smarter than I am

Behind the scenes… he is awesome. I made this Alphabet using real pictures. While I was prepping it, he told me my iguana was not an iguana but a lizard. Therefore, it had to be changed. (I am confident that I didn’t notice or care, but he knew it really did matter!)

Well, I changed it but didn’t throw away the wrong one. When I went to set it up… I couldn’t remember which was right or wrong. So, another quick text to the hubs… HELP.

Sure enough… I put up the wrong one and had to change it. I am pretty sure no one else would have noticed. But he did. And he helped me make it better.

Thanks for the Physically Demanding Jobs that are just too hard for me

I am a little gal and after carrying our girls during my pregnancy, my back is shot. (They seriously did some damage to it.) I got a hand-me-down loft for my classroom, but I needed to make the sides taller and safer for my students. So I needed some wood.

Lifting that wood could have been slightly painful for me to do by me with the girls because they are usually with me. Additionally, I didn’t want the wood in the car between their car seats if I could help it.

I gave my helper the measurements, he got the wood for me. (Notice how easy he makes this look. It was way heavier than it looks!)

Home Depot saw was broken… so hubs had to cut the wood for me as well. Outside. In the heat of a summer night. In Georgia. THEN he went above and beyond and sanded it down as well.

Thanks to all those back-to-school helpers who lend a hand to us, teachers.
We are extremely grateful to you. Who is your back-to-school helper and what do they do for you?