Back to School: Here's What Actually Went On With Us

Where Everyone's At

Out of my four, two are still in school, but only one of them is actually in uniform now, which is a strange stage to be in. This last stretch of summer was still full-on though, so let me just tell you what actually happened.

The Shoe Situation

First, the shoes. My daughter needed new school shoes, and I told her, this one's on you. Sort it yourself. And of course, she left it right to the last minute (you know how they do). They didn't come in time. And I know some of you would've panicked and sorted it for her last minute, but I let it play out. Because honestly? That's the whole point. She needed to feel what happens when you leave things too late. Better she learns that over a pair of shoes now than something bigger later.

Where We're At With School

I've never been that mum pushing hard on grades, you know that about me. What I've always cared more about is them learning to be accountable, and actually trying their best, not for a mark, just because that's how you should do things. But with GCSEs and IB creeping up now, I felt like I needed a clearer picture of where they each stand. So I sat each of them down and did a baseline mock test, every subject, just to see it properly. Not to stress them out, just so I actually know where to focus our time and put together a proper study schedule with them.

The Everyday Stuff

Aside from that, it was all the usual back-to-school admin, but also the stuff that matters more: we sat down and talked through breakfasts, lunches, snacks, sorted out their hifdh timings and made sure Islamic studies actually has proper space in the schedule this year, not just squeezed in whenever. We talked about extracurriculars too, whether it's worth them picking anything new up.

The Screentime Chat

And then, of course, the screentime chat. Because summer had gotten... generous, let's just say. We needed to reel that back in before term started properly.

That's Really It

So that's it really, no big dramatic overhaul, just sitting down, being honest about where everyone's at, and trying to go into the year a bit more intentional.

What they’d much rather be doing than going to school