The juggling act of a mom-teacher gearing up for fall

August is a strange place to live when you’re both a mom and a teacher. It’s this limbo where you’re clinging to summer but also knee-deep in lesson plans, supply lists, and wondering if the kids’ sneakers will make it one more season (spoiler: they won’t).

At home, I’m labeling backpacks, sharpening pencils, and breaking in new lunchboxes. I’m explaining to my 7-year-old why we do not need every single rainbow gel pen at Target. My kindergartener is proudly practicing putting on his own shoes (on the wrong feet, but hey — progress). The baby is still happily in daycare, blissfully unaware that his brother and sister will be gone all day soon.

At school, I’m doing the exact same thing — just multiplied by 100. Prepping bulletin boards, organizing my classroom library, remembering all the passwords I swore I’d never forget, and wondering if the copier will survive another year without bursting into flames.

And then, sports season starts tapping on my shoulder. Soccer x2, volleyball, football… and the endless carpool loops. I’m already mentally mapping how I’ll get from dismissal at school to a practice field 20 minutes away with snacks in hand and one kid in shin guards, all before sunset.

It’s busy. It’s overwhelming. It’s a lot.
But there’s something electric about this time of year. The smell of new crayons. The excitement of first-day outfits. The rush of watching your kid run onto a field with a huge grin.

It’s a season of fresh starts — for my students, for my kids, and for me.

Now excuse me while I try to remember where I put the glue sticks and my glass of wine.