Little did I know that when my husband and I decided to enroll our daughter at the local public charter school that I was not just committing her to a whole new world but really our whole family gets a major scheduling makeover. Don’t get me wrong, I knew we’d have to be diligent about bedtime and waking up and so on, but never did I realize how much I would come to cherish (even relish) the weekends with them.

A wee bit of some background for you though…

I have a job outside the home that has flexible hours. But even with the flexible hours I do work full-time. In the winter/spring I briefly considered homeschooling my daughter this year. I thought, “Heck, I can do that. I have the time and how difficult could it be really?” {For those of you who do homeschool or if you are a teacher, you can go ahead and laugh right now as I know how naive that thought was} After some thought, prayer, discussions with people I decided that while the idea of homeschooling is great, I did not have the time and energy to put forth into making the adventure of homeschooling worthwhile. For me, I knew I would need to connect with co-ops and creative social outlets. I knew I’d need to really research the gazillions of curriculum out there and see what the best fit was for us. And then I just kind of wimped out. I mean, I think it’s probably for the best anyway, but I just did not have the motivation to see it all through.

I knew my daughter was ready for more than the public school half day Kindergarten but didn’t really know what the options were. We put her on the wait list for the public charter school who had a full day program and thought there was no way that it would work out. 2 weeks before the half day Kindergarten startedl we got the call. “Hi. It’s Jan from the charter school. We have a spot that’s opened up for your daughter in Kindergarten. Oh and we start in 4 days so you need to make your decision no later than tomorrow.” WHAT!!!!

Panic ensued. My heart started beating fast. Worry overcame me. Was she ready for Kindergarten? Was I ready for Kindergarten? How do I make this decision? What does Mr. Intentionalgirl think about this? Is the full day Kindergarten really the way to go here? Ahhh.

We took the plunge.

Here I had gone from thinking I might homeschool to enrolling her in a full day kindergarten at a local public charter school that required uniforms. This is quite the paradigm shift, y’all. My brain is still trying to figure it out.

And now my Benjamin is every day at preschool to help us out with this every day schedule thing. It’s kind of nuts. And I am feeling like I’m locked into this crazy schedule that’s forcing me into a routine. On Sundays I think about whether or not she has a clean shirt for her uniform the next day. I think through what snack she’ll take. Oh and on that note, a friend in her class is allergic to nuts and dairy so we are forced to think outside the box with that too (I’m forcing myself to think that this is a good thing; the easy-peasy goldfish that are not allowed has turned into a dish of cold broccoli or peas that she loves – one week I packed cold chicken and dumplings for her – gross, right?). Then I think about whether or not she’s packing a lunch or buying one. I need to look at the lunch menu to see if they have something she’ll like. I think about if it’s pretzel day and if it is I need to put $1.00 in her take home folder with a note that it’s for “Lily”. I think about what I’ll make for breakfast in the morning and whether or not the kitchen needs to be cleaned up first at night. I think about whether or not there are papers I need to return to the school. I think about whether I have coffee creamer…come on, you know what I’m talking about here. Then I move onto Ben and I think about whether or not he’s staying for lunch. If so, have I emailed the school to let them know that? Do I have what I need for his lunch? I think about whether or not he’s staying for naptime and if he has what he needs for nap. Lastly, I think about me and all my work demands, emails, etc.

So, basically the routine and schedule is good but I am totally locked in.

And did I mention that I kind of miss my kids. I mean, this is the first time since I walked out of my fancy Corporate America job, wearing my coordinating suit and high heels, 8 months pregnant with Ben, that I’ve really been without them all day long at the same time. It’s really weird.

I’m still adjusting to the schedule and demands of the paperwork and such. Summer left too fast. Fall arrived too fast. And I’m here still trying to figure out how it all came to pass like this!

So that’s my world right now.

How goes it in your school schedule, crazy world?