August Thoughts

August is here and it sure seems to me that it arrived very quickly. I enjoyed the carefree days of June and July: I didn't need to water my flowers or vegetable garden. This feeling of August's quick arrival is one I haven't felt since I retired from teaching. Our local Walmart had their school supplies section out at the end of June, but I think that was just because of their remodel. I was not looking for the school supply section but found it because it is where the cat and dog food used to be. But then I started hearing the "back to school" commercials on TV, so maybe that was a part of Walmart's plan to start early (in my opinion) after all.

The local meteorologists told us for most of July that because of all the rain, the state has not had typical summer temperatures. Those started the last week of July, and now it's August, and everyone is complaining about the heat. That complaining usually starts mid June. Our water park in Pauls Valley as well as swimming pools in general will close after Labor Day, but with the summer temperatures starting about a month late, maybe they should stay open until the end of September. Kids would love that! By extending this fun summer activity, kids might not dread starting back to school. Parents and teachers might not feel the same way though.

August is a "new beginning" for kids and teachers. Kids worry and wonder about who their new teacher will be and who will be in their new classroom. From past experience, I know that teachers also worry and wonder about who will be in their classroom, and how are they going to get everything taught.

I mostly know who will be in my Children's Worship group, and I have started planning. As I have done in past years in Children's Worship, I will read the kids the parable of The Good Samaritan, and the books Who Is My Neighbor by Amy-Jill Levine and Sandy Eisenberg Sasso, and Max and the Purple Worry by Kitty Black and Jess Rose. The book Who Is My Neighbor will help us to be friends with all kids, even if they are new and are different, in their classroom in the cafeteria and on the playground. I will pair Max and the Purple Worry with the Good Shepherd series of stories from the Young Children and Worship series I have been using. From there I am planning to focus on Old Testament stories until Advent begins. But I am getting ahead of myself, since I really don't start back until mid-September. Even retired teachers can still get excited about planning a new school year.

--Tina