Two somewhat unrelated yet connected thoughts this morning born out of experience.
First – curb your dog.
After dropping off most of the kids at school I took Tevye (and Grace, in the stroller) to preschool. While waiting for the door to open he walked off the sidewalk and around the rhododendron. It’s a small area, and there are some smallish grass-type plants in there and further down some bushes. The rhododendron has been trimmed back and grown to the point where it really is a small tree at this point.
So Tevye, despite my attempt to grab him as well as my verbal plea, went off the concrete and started to go around the rhododendron.
You can tell by the title where at least part of this post is going.
After getting Tevye back by my side I saw him grabbing at his shoe. Oh, and it smelled. Wait. He wiped something on his shirt. Literally moments before the door opened I had to deal with Tevye having dog poop on his shirt, hand and shoe.
Fortunately we live a block and a half away. We walked home and I spent a fair amount of time cleaning Tevye and his shoe as well as changing his shirt. Actually, his shoe was probably the cleanest it has been since it was first purchased. But it took a little while.
On the way back to school, approximately 15 or so minutes after the first bell, I noticed one of Xavier’s 1st grade classmates. His father was getting him out of the car and beginning to walk to school.
Nearly 20 minutes after school starts they were still over a block away, and walking as if they had all the time in the world. This was the same child who, especially during preschool, routinely showed up late.
The thing is, getting to school late isn’t that big of a deal, but when it becomes routine, it is a big deal. Starting in preschool habits are established that can and will last throughout your school career. Getting to school on time is important as it sets the tone for the day as well as establishing how the day will go. Quite often there is work being done in the first half hour of school that is just as important, maybe even moreso than later on in the day.
And that’s the second thing I want to mention – get your kids to school on time.
Both ideas are simple things, but really, in the long run, can have larger consequences.