Okay, sometimes I get writing ideas from here.  Other times I just don’t blog.  What can I say?  With six readers, most of them lurkers and me being a total comment whore, it’s hard to stay focused.  Today’s prompt is 10 Things I love about my spouse, dog, kids – whatever.  So I am going to modify that and talk about my most favorite thing about this time of year.  Back. To. School.

10 Things I love about Back to School:

1.  The children are out of the house.  All day.

2.  I don’t have to entertain them.  And keeping them off the crack video games is so much easier when they aren’t around them all day.

3.  I have a kindergartener this year!   They get so excited about everything and that is a blast!

4.  All new school supplies.  I even buy each of them a new backpack every year.  It’s like a fresh start!

5.  The excitement the kids have for about the first week.  The subsequent grumbling makes me laugh.

6.  Specifically new crayons.  I love them.  Crayons are a big old box of therapy and buying them for the kids means I get some too!

7.  New books.  I hate paying for them but I love the smell, the feel… and with me going back to school, I will get at least one!

8.  Anticipation.  New semester, new year, new teachers.  I’m mostly an optimist so I always hope for the best.

9.  New sports.  The guys are playing soccer this fall.  It should be fun.  And I will keep telling myself that until it proves otherwise.

10.  Fall is one of my favorite times of year.  I’d say it’s my very favorite but spring flowers and how much I hate winter give spring the edge by just a bit.  But I love fall and the beginning of the school year means fall is coming!  I hope that fall in Tejas and New Mexico doesn’t disappoint.

Now things I HATE about back to school:

1.  Back to School Shopping.  I love new supplies but I hate shopping for them.  What can I say?  The stress of it makes people rude and rude people piss me off.  As my fellow blogger Ian says, “the Universe hates bitches” and so do I.

2.  A feeling of impending doom.   I’m not a snob but after last year I don’t have a good feeling about the teachers.  Last year, the Senator’s teacher didn’t give homework because parents didn’t make sure it got done.  That’s not a reason to not give homework.  That’s a reason to retain kids in the fourth grade.  And, up in the north, we hear lots of bad things about school and standards in the south.   After middle school orientation, I’m feeling optimistic about standards but the Czar’s school is fifty years old and looks it.

3.  The wonder about whether the kids would be better off if I homeschooled them.  If I hate public schools so much, why bother?  Well, I haven’t found a non-religion infused curriculum for one.  For two, I have to work so how does that go with homeschooling?    I always hate myself for not doing anything more to keep them focused in the summer.  Maybe next summer will be the one I homeschool them for summer school to keep their brains free from summer vacation rot.

4.  Standardized tests and the fact that teachers teach to them.  The Middle School principal denies it but we will see.  I know both the Michigan district and the Wisconsin one definitely do.  It’s ridiculous.  Let’s all teach rote memorization rather than critical thinking, shall we?  Then we can wonder where our competitive advantage went.

5.  Parents.  Specifically PTA parents.  They drive me nuts.

6.  Fundraisers.  I’d rather just write a check than sell wrapping paper, people.  Let me do that.

7.  A special nod to helicopter parents.  Particularly those who have children on the same sports team as my son.  I want my kid to play too but you don’t see me being a bitch about it.

8.  Homework.  Specifically my own.  I have a statistics class this semester.  I haven’t had stats since 1999.  I hope they start slow.

9.  Morning battles.  Every year I try to get the kids adjusted to getting up and getting moving in the morning.  Every year I fail.

10.  What?  You really want 10?  Isn’t this nine enough? Okay, I hate that my classes start 8/21 and I haven’t been cleared to register yet.  It’s just paperwork, but I need my stupid student ID number to access the registration system.  AH!  The bureaucrazy of higher ed!