Rock Solid Families
Rock Solid Families
Let's Start the New School Year Right! Ep 297 Episode
Here we go! The new school year is ready to get underway whether our kids like it or not. The start of the school year can provoke a host of different reactions from different students; anxiety, excitement, dread, anticipation, uncertainty, etc.... So, as a parent, how can you help your student start the year in the best way possible?
As we look ahead to the 2024-25 school year, here are a few tips to start the new year off right:
Get into a consistent routine as a family. Kids desperately need and thrive in consistent routines. Whether it be nightly family meals, consistent bedtime, packing lunches and backpacks before bed…whatever the routines are. Start them now and keep them consistent to help your child manage the daily stresses of life and thrive in this new school year. Anxiety in children often comes from inconsistency, chaos, and confusion.
Prioritize your marriage and family over activities. It’s so easy to get swept up into the wave of busyness and distractions in our world today. Our culture has parents convinced that a full schedule=good parenting.
Don’t get consumed by all the extras.
Partner with your child’s teacher, administrators, coaches from the beginning. Trust me, no one’s getting filthy rich in this profession. They would love to partner with you from the start to help your child succeed. Email their teacher. Introduce yourself to their coach. Volunteer to help at the school. This spirit of synergy will help everyone win.
Set the tone for a good year. Your child is watching and listening to you. Set a positive tone for the new school year and encourage your child to do the same. Your children take their cues from YOUR words, actions, and attitude. If they hear you complaining or undermining their teacher, they too will doubt and badmouth them. If you have questions or concerns, talk to their teacher, coach, or administrator privately and address them directly. Don’t air your dirty laundry out on social media.
These are just a few of the things we focus on every year when our children start school and things we’ve found helpful with families we work with. Remember, our kids are watching us and need our help to start the new school year off right.
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Welcome to the Rock Solid Families podcast. I am Linda Hutchinson here with the retired teacher Merle. How are you?
Speaker 2:Retired teacher.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean after 32 years, interesting you bring that into my title. Why? What do you mean?
Speaker 2:Retired teacher.
Speaker 1:Well, because you don't have to have that angst and anxiety about the beginning of school that's coming up. Well, that's true, like all the other teachers around there Talking about the start of the school's coming up. Well, that's true, like all the other teachers around there Talking about the start of the school year.
Speaker 2:I'm glad it's kind of a bittersweet thing right, I definitely would celebrate the career, but I never liked the start of the school year, From the time I was six years old.
Speaker 1:I would get half sick at the start of the school year. That's where kind of your anxiety started.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that was one of the reminders. So, yeah, I never looked forward to the start of the school year and that's where we are.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and so that's actually what our topic is about starting the new school year off, right. And so it's crazy that this show is going to post the end of July and there are kids in our community that are starting school this week. It's still in July and they're starting school. I thought, come on, at least have them on August 1st, so it sounds better than July, you know, with 30th or whatever. It's crazy that we're starting school in July.
Speaker 2:Did you like school? The start of the school year? I loved school. You're so weird Now here's the thing. I loved school as a student, so you make me feel really bad. Now I love school as a student, so you make me feel really bad now.
Speaker 1:I loved school as a student, which is why I wanted to become a teacher, because I loved school so much. Right, I wanted to be a teacher since I was a kid. Is there medicine for that?
Speaker 2:Like what can you do for that and this?
Speaker 1:new school year was always so fun because you had your new school supplies and you had your new backpack.
Speaker 2:Oh my gosh guys, we are on two different planets.
Speaker 1:Now I will tell you this when I was a teacher, I did like the beginning of the school year because there was new students and I didn't like bulletin boards. I'm just going to admit. That's why I didn't become an elementary school teacher because I could not. I didn't have a creative bone in my body, so new bulletin boards were always the where anxiety came from.
Speaker 1:And then I kind of figured that out and then it was like, yeah, I can't wait, he came from. And then I kind of figured that out and then it was like, yeah, I can't wait, but yes, I love school even more when we're not teaching and we don't have to go and our kids do.
Speaker 2:I liked. I liked the school year once it got into the swing of things like the transition into it, just because there's a lot of new stimuli out there at the start of the new school year the new teachers as a student, the new teachers, the new subject matter, the new kids that you're going to be around, the new plan that you have to go through to figure out where your classes are.
Speaker 2:There was just a lot of new, but once I got that down, I was always okay with school, but I didn't really like the start at all.
Speaker 1:Now we haven't mentioned sports in there, and since I played a fall sport, I played volleyball and then I coached volleyball. It actually was anticlimactic because I had already been in the school like a whole month before the school year started, whether it be as a player or as a coach, and so really it was kind of like let's get going so we can get into some games and stuff, because we had just been doing a horrible amount of practice and conditioning.
Speaker 2:I didn't ever do a fall sport. And so that's true, Like you're already in there and just being around the school because of practices and all of that. So yeah, the school thing is almost old hat by the time the school year starts.
Speaker 1:So what we want to do is we want to walk alongside you as parents and even as some students, if they're listening, and really like how can we start this new school year off? Right, and so that's where we're going to get into, but before we do, we need to thank our sponsors. Let's thank our sponsors.
Speaker 2:Let's thank Maxwell Construction, casey's Outdoor Solutions and the Hoosier Ice House. So thanks to those guys for sponsoring the rock solid families podcast. Uh, again thanks to all of you who just support what we do at rock solid families, along with the podcast. Do us a favor, give us a five-star rating, share our shows. These are things that just help, uh, with the conversation, as well as people finding us on the search engine.
Speaker 1:So do you know, thank you. Do you know what also is this week and it's not in my notes and I don't know if you realize this when this show airs, what is happening this same day? This same day, see, you're not going to remember, but July 29th is also the first day of our new hire.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, I'm so excited. Sorry, Bridget.
Speaker 1:Sorry For, yeah, I'm so excited. Sorry, bridget, sorry forgot you. Bridget Price is our new assistant director. She begins this week. She's also our adolescent specialist that she's going to be working with teenagers, specifically teenage girls, young adult women, even younger moms, and so we're really excited about that. So she's going to start off. And she was a little nervous because she heard from Jenna that we put them on the podcast, right away, so she was already nervous.
Speaker 2:You guys are going to get to meet her on the podcast. We'll have her on there A couple weeks. Yeah, you guys are going to like her and our clients are going to like her. She's got a ton of personality, super sweet and knows what she's doing with her experience. So we're really looking forward to her joining our team and just adding a whole new facet to what we can cover.
Speaker 1:So she's a licensed social worker that has spent the last five years in the school system as a school counselor which is your background and so she really has worked with those kiddos, that population and those families, and she has a heart for the Lord, she has a heart for kids and families, and so we're so excited to have her join our team. So welcome, bridget, and just be prepared, because you are going to be on here in a few weeks.
Speaker 2:You're next and we're excited about that. We were teasing her about that at a little lunch the other day. She was like you could tell she wanted to get prepared. I'm like oh, no, you just, we just start firing bullets at you.
Speaker 1:We are going to have to give her some questions to think about. We're not going to have to. This isn't going to be like speed round, is it?
Speaker 2:Oh, I think it should be on the hot seat Bridget. I will get you some questions On the hot seat Bridget.
Speaker 1:I will get you some questions, but anyway, that's an exciting announcement, that, and if you are in need of an adolescent specialist or want to schedule with Bridget her schedule is out there by the time you listen to this you can go to rocksolidfamiliesorg and you can just click on make an appointment, which is the bottom of every page, and you can see more information about her or Merle or I. If you're unfamiliar with Rock Solid Families, we are a faith-based coaching organization in the greater Cincinnati Ohio area in Southeast Indiana, and so we see clients in our office in St Leon, indiana, or through Zoom all over the country, and so if there's a way that we can help you connect with us.
Speaker 2:Yeah, all right, let's get into the show. Let's get into school so we are going to help give you guys some tips. These are not tips from a textbook. These are because we spent a lot of time Gosh.
Speaker 1:I was doing math.
Speaker 2:I got like over 50 years of schooling in me.
Speaker 1:That doesn't mean as a student and as a teacher. Yeah, yeah All combined.
Speaker 2:So, but the point here is just like here are some things that we know will help you and will work, and many of the things you probably do or you kind of are aware of, but maybe just have not made the move to get them implemented. So the first thing and you've been much better at this thing than I am as a just how we're wired but is finding a consistent routine from the get go, but is finding a consistent routine from the get-go, and so, if you're listening to this, you want to start these consistent routines ASAP, like even before the school year.
Speaker 2:So these are well, these are bedtimes, right, like the idea that you're going to start putting them to bed at 8 or 7.30 or 8.30, whatever it is like. Start doing those kind of things now. And what are some other routines?
Speaker 1:that you've thought to be very important. I know Jenna's going to be listening to this and she was telling this story the other day, before we even wrote this and before she ever heard us say this.
Speaker 1:She was trying to get her son into the routine because he's starting kindergarten yeah and so she started this new bedtime routine and in the first night didn't go so well. She was telling stories, but you know that is one of them. But another one is something as simple as a nightly dinner routine where you guys sit around the table after school and really unpack that day. Let them feel like they have a safe place to go with their stories and their connect with them on a regular basis.
Speaker 1:And if you are literally eating Wendy's through the drive-thru and sitting in a car on the way to practices every day and you're never really having that routine, you're creating more anxiety for your child, and so, whether it be packing their lunches the night before or laying out their clothes or whatever that is, if they know that every day they come home from school, you are waiting at the bus stop for them or you're putting them on the bus every morning. They just need to know there's this consistent routine that makes them feel safe and secure.
Speaker 2:That's huge, especially the younger ones, that's what we're mostly talking about there.
Speaker 2:Also, on top of that, I'll just say, in any routine that they can be responsible for themselves, because I know what you were thinking. You said lay out their clothes. On top of that, I'll just say, and any routine, that they can be responsible for themselves. So, because I know what you were thinking, you said lay out their clothes. That means the kids. You know you might, for the kindergartner, help lay out the clothes. But really, like, if they're a kid who's pretty scattered in the morning or they don't wake up well, hey, it's. You know it's seven o'clock, we finished dinner go out and lay your clothes out that you want to wear tomorrow, like that's their routine, so that in the morning they're not running around going this doesn't fit.
Speaker 1:I don't know what to wear, I don't know where my shoes are and the next thing, you know, they're all running around like their hair's on fire.
Speaker 2:So, um, these are just. Those are really helpful, right there.
Speaker 1:So we have a son who has ADD, and so in the morning he would be the most scattered, and so he is like I want to pack lunch and I don't know where my shoes are and I don't know what to wear and I don't have anything clean, and so if we could get ahead of that and he could do those things the night before, then that really alleviates a lot of the tension in the morning.
Speaker 2:And we will say, you know, he's at an age now that we don't do that for him right, and there's many, many, many times that he doesn't do that for him, and so the next morning we don't really give a lot of lead way into him being in a bad mood or throwing that on other people because things aren't going well. It's like no, these are the things you have to be responsible for.
Speaker 1:Okay. So I'm going to throw this in here while we're on this subject. We have already made a, we've gotten ahead of it and set a boundary that if our children forgot their backpack or their lunch or their Chromebook, we give them one pass a quarter, and so we're not going to keep rescuing them, because that's part of the problem is, if they know that they don't have to be organized and they don't have to remember that you're going to jump in and drive it up and take care of it for them, they'll never get to that place. So if you say, hey, school year's starting and I'm not going to keep rescuing you and bringing your homework to you or bringing your lunch you forgot. So let's make a plan, let's set a routine, because that's going to be something you get one a quarter and our son last year used it in the first week.
Speaker 2:I think he did that every quarter of the first week, but then I let him know like hey, this is it, this is your one and only for the semester. Yeah, and a little bit of that is. It is a little bit age-dependent and also a little bit of the timing dependent. You know we're not really talking about that first week of school. Okay, there's a lot of other things going, and so if that very first week of school your first grader forgets, something it's not the time to beat them over the head.
Speaker 2:There's a lot of other things, but once the routine gets going, and it's all been established. That's when you go okay, you know it's kind of a one and done kind of thing or those kind of things, but it is a little bit age dependent.
Speaker 1:I was talking about a 16 year old right. So it's a different than you're right, a kindergartner so. But again, we're trying to work toward independence and responsibility and self-reliance, like, so they can get that resiliency they need, yeah.
Speaker 2:So the second one that we really want to emphasize and I heard some of you in your brain, I heard you on the first one- when. Linda said when you find yourself going through the Wendy's drive-thru and you're eating on the first one. When Linda said when you find yourself going through the.
Speaker 2:Wendy's drive-thru and you're eating on the run and I heard some of you in your brain say well, if you knew how busy our schedule was. And so this is really a lot of what number two has to do, and that is, you have way more control than you realize and set the priority early over your marriage. Realize and set the priority early over your marriage, your family, and then the activities. And if the activities are, you know, we understand, you know a night, you know we're not saying seven nights a week, you all have the family dinner.
Speaker 2:You know if you can do that, great, but what we're saying is, you are the one in charge of the schedule and if you have coaches and other people saying, well, I'm sorry, this is when the practice is or this is what we do. You really need to reevaluate, like what you're doing here, because it's causing chaos within the family and many times we've talked on the fuse that chaos causes anxiety, especially with all people, but especially with the little kids.
Speaker 1:Yeah, our elementary kids. Our culture has parents convinced that a full busy schedule equals a good parent. And we're just saying. That is a lie of the enemy and when it's destroying and undermining your family and the health of your marriage, something needs to change. So prioritize your marriage and family over activities which kind of leads to number three.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so we talk about here, consumed by all the extras, and one of the big extras would be the activities and the calendar and schedule. But there's so many other big extras and the extras are making sure your kids have everything, making sure your kids have every experience, making sure they have all of the coolest of this that and the other, and it's all these extras that you're you know.
Speaker 2:they just don't do anybody any good. And the next thing you know, your kid is focused or distracted by these extras that are not related to really what's going on in the school.
Speaker 1:Yeah, when you say that the stuff okay. I have parents who say I have to work five days of overtime because my kid is in select soccer or I practices are destroying the health and the family and the wellbeing of your child's emotional health. Really don't get consumed in that. Don't buy that line. We were coaches and athletes in high school and college and so we know that at the high school level there is a demand for our students' time and focus. But this is starting now in the elementary.
Speaker 2:But at your third grade.
Speaker 1:Yes, elementary school. Well, they're in level two of gymnastics and they have to go five nights a week on the other side of Cincinnati and we have to pay $3,000 a month and I'm like they're in the third grade.
Speaker 2:They're not Olympic stars.
Speaker 1:Stop fooling ourselves. Why are we throwing all that money into this pay-to-play mindset that people are in?
Speaker 2:There's a parent out there that's listening right now and they're thinking well, how would your kid ever be an Olympic star if you didn't do that? And I will just tell you we've known some exceptional athletes. Very few have ever been that exceptional. And the very few that have ever been that exceptional. You knew in third grade that they were that exceptional. And the very few that have ever been that exceptional. You knew in third grade that they were that exceptional.
Speaker 2:And so what I'll tell you is that you know, most of our kids are just not going to be there. They're going to be really lucky to play all through their high school years. Just to be real honest.
Speaker 1:They'll get burned out.
Speaker 2:And I think I'm going to quote this wrong, but it's like less than like 3% are going to play at the college level. Right, and so the idea here, is like let them be kids. You know, honestly, the playing out in the yard, the digging holes and climbing trees, those things are actually going to fare much better at making a well-rounded person throughout their life.
Speaker 1:Yes, and I was just going to say that, like it's better to have a well-balanced, well-rounded child who knows how to turn it off, who knows that their life is more than that sport or that activity, and that those were some of my best athletes were the people who kind of knew this isn't my life and I'm not all consumed by my identity in that sport and so it's okay to say no, it doesn't make you a bad parent. Please, especially on the elementary school level. Please don't buy into the lie that more is better, because it's really a lot of times, most of the time, not.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah Well that's a whole show right there.
Speaker 2:Okay, let's go to the fourth point, and the fourth point is this is one that I always stress so much from my counseling perspective Parents, the teachers in the school, need you.
Speaker 2:So, invest, and invest appropriately and we're going to talk a little bit about what appropriately means all right Appropriately in your school. Get to know their teachers, get to know the principal and the counselors, get to know the coaches and when I say that, I mean just introduce yourself All right. And one thing that I want to encourage you to do is allow them to do their job. It doesn't mean you don't keep a watchful eye, it doesn't mean you don't have standards on them. You absolutely should do all those things, but allow them to do their job. Okay, if they were hired as a professional, allow them to do that, all right.
Speaker 2:And then when they speak, all right, so many especially at the elementary level, but probably the high school too, from when I think back to that, um, teachers are not going to tell you the absolute truth unless they get permission to do it In other words, when you say how's my little Johnny doing?
Speaker 1:in class.
Speaker 2:Oh, he's just fine. He's fine, and in fact so you really have to lean into the teacher and say, listen, I'm not here to attack you, I've got your back. Tell me really how my kid is doing. Partner with them Right. So that, yeah, so that the teacher goes oh, I've got a teammate here, so we're and we're all in the interest of helping your kids, so lean into these school.
Speaker 1:People need to know that you are on their team and that you want to partner with them, you're not against them, you're not going to, you know, undermine their authority Like this is a huge part of making a great, successful school year.
Speaker 2:Yeah, okay, this next part I had to add.
Speaker 1:Yes, Because this is you. I felt like man.
Speaker 2:This is so. This is number five. And number five is that idea of you. Know, you've all heard kids complain about oh. Johnny's a teacher's pet.
Speaker 1:I want to know who Johnny is. You've been really talking about Johnny a lot. Johnny is like John Doe.
Speaker 2:You know he's the generic.
Speaker 1:What about Jane? What about Jane Doe? Well, okay, Jane. Jane, she's such a teacher's pet, susie, always sounds like the teacher pet to me, karen, she's a Karen.
Speaker 2:So the idea here, guys, is, yeah, you know that person, they may come off as that, but I have to tell you like, over all these years, seldom does a kid start off with the idea of I'm going to see if I can be the teacher pet. What happens is that they have a gift of having a relatively outgoing personality and they have that gift of engagement right, and so, in other words, they learn, they know how to invest in other people.
Speaker 1:And connect, yeah, and so what?
Speaker 2:you have is you have so many kids who are maybe a little quiet, maybe a little more reserved, you know, maybe they're more timid and they go through the school year and, hon, you can think of kids, I can think of kids that I hardly knew after 180 days of school because they would come in and hide practically.
Speaker 2:And so teach your kids from the very first day before the school year starts. Teach your kids to go into the classroom, put their stuff up, get settled and just make contact with that teacher and just say, hey, now I have a teacher pet name too. Hey, mrs Smith.
Speaker 1:Hey.
Speaker 2:Mrs Smith, hey, hi, how are you doing Right? Inquiring? A little bit about them because this is guys, this is like day one. Little bit about them because this is guys, this is like day one and this is going to set up the, the relationship possibilities that can happen throughout the rest of that school year. And, as we've said this many times on our shows, but I'm just telling you, this is the gold ticket to your kid getting connected.
Speaker 1:And right.
Speaker 2:And so it's not going to take long that the next thing you know, that teacher is going to spin it right back around and say hey, jane, how are you doing?
Speaker 1:today.
Speaker 2:Right, and they're going to bring it back. And now I have two people investing in each other, and so where does that pay dividends? You know, some days are great and it's like, oh, we're fine, we're good. But some days the kid comes in and says, oh, I'm just tired today. And the teacher has a new light bulb that goes off. Okay, Well, you know, hang in there today. You know we'll get through this together, you know. And so they're buying into where each other has a need.
Speaker 1:And so man guys.
Speaker 2:Teach your kids to invest into the relationship and, especially in this case, the teacher. The teacher and the coach like it's simple, simple.
Speaker 1:How are you doing today? Yeah, yeah. So, hun, as you're talking and telling that story, I was thinking of a couple, a mom and a dad, that we saw just this week. Um, at lunch we were out to lunch and it was a family, a family that I taught I taught five out of their six kids and they did this so well where they invested in getting to know you as a teacher and the parents partnering with you as a teacher in a school. And so I have such a fond memory, fond memories, of this family and their students and the connection that we had. But they were just those genuine kids who would get to know you, who would be a teacher's pet. Sometimes they would help you if you needed them, but their parents had my back.
Speaker 2:I was just going to say that they had your back.
Speaker 1:But I will tell you this we built that relationship and then, several years into it, I remember very well the mom challenging me on something. Okay, but she had earned my respect. I knew that she wasn't trying to undermine my authority. She was had a legitimate question.
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 1:And I appreciated how she handled that. She came to me, she wrote me a letter. I forget that we didn't think we had email at the time but she was the one that said hey, I really have this question about this grade you gave or this project that you assigned. And so I'm just kind of wondering about this because this seems over the top. I don't even remember what the situation was, but I do remember her challenging me, but I did not take that as an attack because she had partnered with me. She invested in our family, as a matter of fact, and so that was just an example of man, and 30 years later I still remember that family.
Speaker 1:And I remember every one of those kids and I love that family and that's what we're looking for. How do we partner together as a teacher and as a family, to really help our kids succeed?
Speaker 2:Oh, I just can't speak highly enough of that situation, hon, because I remember too most of those guys were boys. Right they were, and they were great boys, but a little ornery they were. They got into some trouble, yeah a good ornery right, and so those parents had your back, and those boys knew that.
Speaker 1:if Mrs Hutchinson said this that they were going to reinforce it, and so that made for better behavior out of those boys.
Speaker 2:Left unchecked or even against you.
Speaker 1:That could have been chaotic right, because they were big boys. Well, and these were influential parents.
Speaker 2:And so if these would have been parents that came in and said you know what? This is what my kid said right away, everything really goes south there, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:And now what's so cool is to see them as parents, you know, and to see them kind of leading the way, kind of following the example of their mom and dad, right, investing in their schools, being engaged with their students and teachers and really creating a dynamic now where we know that one of the grandchildren and she's known as a very respectful, strong leader in the school because of what the example of parents and grandparents have done yeah, generational, generational for sure.
Speaker 2:All right, the last point, guys, that we have and it may seem trivial, but it's really not. It's setting the tone for how the school year and how school was approached. And so you know, I can think of three different approaches, and that would be a negative tone being a nice oh, school's ridiculous oh don't worry about that, that's stupid. My parents were the one that you probably wouldn't think of, and that would be a neutral tone.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:They really just didn't weigh in on school.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Right, which really left me to be the guy who decided whether school was good or bad Kind of hanging left. Yeah, yeah and so because they just weren't in, they were not uninvested.
Speaker 1:All right.
Speaker 2:They would attend the meetings that they had to and everything, but they were just more neutral. And then there is the, the one who sings kind of the praise not necessarily of the school but of education of.
Speaker 2:Hey, you know this is good, this is important. And so, if the opportunity here is always free, remember you're the hero, you're your kid's hero, and if you can sing the praises of, you know, hey, school's good, hey, it's going to be a good day at school today. Hey, your teacher, you know your teacher's doing the best they can Like these kinds of things. Your kid will buy into that and it will help them get over the humps.
Speaker 1:Yeah, they're going to take the cues from your actions, your attitude, your words, and so, please, if they hear you complaining or undermining the school or the administrators, man, they're going to do the same. And so please and this was not, thank goodness, was not available when we were teaching, or most of the time when I was teaching please do not air your dirty laundry out on social media. That is not going to do anybody any good, and you might feel better in the moment, but you're really undermining everything good that could happen from this, and so I would appreciate it. If you struggled with something a teacher or administrator did, that you go to them.
Speaker 1:Matthew 18 principle says you go to that person directly if you feel like they've sinned against you. And if that doesn't work, if they won't listen, then you take someone else. And so maybe go to the teacher directly, talk to them privately, without your child in the room or in the earshot, and if it's not handled, then take the administrator, invite them into the conversation and say, hey, can we sit down and talk through this? Because I tried to talk to Mrs Smith and nothing got resolved, and so I really don't want to see it escalate or get worse. So please can we do something about it. But social media, man, that's actually a coward's response because that just kind of hides behind. Even if you use your name, you're not looking that person in the eyes and you're not teaching your child how to resolve conflict in a healthy, honoring, god-honoring way.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's good, good stuff there. All right, so, guys, really those are our points to get things started with the start of the school year. You know, many of these are not rocket science, so it's a matter of implementation, right Execution.
Speaker 2:So we just ask you to be thoughtful and intentional about getting things rolling well for your family, for your kiddos, at the start of the school year. So that is our challenge this week is, as you are getting close to the start of the school year, so that is our challenge this week is, as you are getting close to the start of the school year, be intentional about having some talk around the dinner table and laying out, well, what are the plans, what are the expectations going to be here for our family?
Speaker 1:Hey, while I'm thinking about it, part of your job as a parent is to lean into your child and if there is anxieties, if there are fears, then talk through them. Maybe it's something as simple as I don't know where to go to get on the bus, you know, or I don't know how to do lunch duty or lunchtime, and so you could really work through some of those anxieties for them. And if you don't know the answer, then reach out to their teacher and say hey, Johnny's so like, scared about how lunch rolls Can you help me.
Speaker 1:And so those are just some things, with those routines of bedtime and dinnertime, that you can work through them as they come up. But, man, we are praying for you. As parents, we're praying for all of our students starting the new school year. We're excited for them. We're praying for the teachers and the administrators and the bus drivers and the cafeteria workers and the coaches and all those folks who are going to begin this new season, this new year, and hopefully start it off right.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we have been blessed with a great school community around here in our area and it is so much to do with solid, solid parents, solid teachers and people buying into the whole idea that we want the schools to be solid, and so hopefully you can find something of that nature in your neighborhood.
Speaker 1:All right.
Speaker 2:So we want, again we want to thank our sponsors, maxwell Construction, casey's Outdoor Solutions and the Hoosier Ice House. And again, if there's anything that we can help you guys with, you can check out our webpage at rocksolidfamiliesorg or you can give us a call. I mean, if you've got a student, a child, with some anxieties to start, or whatever, and you want to know how to handle them better or whatever, call us at 812-576-7625. And I think that's all I've got.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so thank you so much for listening to the Rock Solid Families podcast. Building a stronger community, one family at a time. Make it a great day.
Speaker 2:I never liked the start of the school year, Linda I loved school.
Speaker 2:Thanks. Rock solid families wants to thank casey's outdoor solutions for sponsoring the rock solid families podcast. Casey's has grown to be one of the largest and most unique garden centers and gift shops in the cincinnati tri-state area. Whether you are looking to take on that next landscape project or simply add a little home decor to your house, casey's has you covered. Located at 21481 State Line Road, lawrenceburg, indiana, call them today at 812-537-3800. Let Casey's help you add beauty to your home. Rock solid families wants to thank maxwell construction for sponsoring the rock solid families podcast. For over 30 years, maxwell construction has been a leader in turning dreams into realities building schools, schools, banks, restaurants and many other commercial and public facilities. Maxwell Construction has made it their priority to not just build buildings but to build into their community. So if you have any construction needs, call them at 812-537-2200.
Speaker 1:Rock Solid Families would like to thank Hoosier Ice House for being a proud sponsor of the Rock Solid Families podcast. In the heart of historic Lawrenceburg, Indiana, the Ice House is at the corner of Vine and High Streets. The historic building evokes a feeling of comfort, with spacious indoor and outdoor dining, a large bar and comfortable dining areas Large enough to host parties, yet intimate enough to feel like your favorite neighborhood restaurant. So thank you again for the Hoosier Ice House for sponsoring the Rock Solid Families podcast.