Back to school

By Rob Hurtgen

As the song goes, "It's the most wonderful time of the year." No, we have not skipped forward to December; it's time to go back to school. After a busy summer of camps, baseball, trips and a couple weeks of binge watching whatever they could find on TV, my kids are ready to go back to school. At least that is what I am telling them.

Today I would like to give you three ways to help your children get ready for that ever-precious first day of school.

Be excited about the first day of school. The attitude you have about school can either ignite your children's enthusiasm for school or quench it.

Celebrate by making your children a special breakfast or letting them pick out their favorite cereal for the first day of school.

Don't forget to take their pictures, especially pictures of the middle-school child who rolls his or her eyes at you. Pictures capture how much they change during the year. Celebrate the day in some way unique to your family.

Leading up to the first day of school, ask them some open-ended questions about the new school year. Ask questions such as: "What are you most excited about this year?" "What makes you the most nervous?" "How do you want this year to be different from last year?" By asking open-ended questions, not only can you get to know your children more, but you also train them to set goals.

Psalm 90:12 says, "Teach us to number our days." We need to remember not only to make our days count, but to learn to count them.

You may not walk through a strategic goal-planning process with your children, but asking open-ended questions can help them dream about what their days could be.

Finally, do not forget to pray. Pray not only with your children for the new school year, but pray also for all those your children will encounter this next year.

Pray for their teachers, their principal, their bus driver and especially their janitor. School janitors have an incredibly important role that often is overlooked.

When you pray with your children, especially for other people, not only are you modeling how to pray, but you also are modeling one way to care for others.

This is an exciting time of year. There is only one first day of school. Let's make the most of it.