My children started school yesterday. We had been homeschooling for the past 8 years, so it feels bigger and stranger than perhaps the average first day of school.

In fact, it felt a lot like birth, which made me think I should have hired a back-to-school doula. She could have told me things like:

1. Don’t bring all four children to “help” with school supply shopping because you will bring home one 3-inch binder instead of three 1-inch binders and will need to go back to Target AGAIN the night before school starts.

2. The children will be fine. They will find their lockers and find someone to sit with at lunch and get on the right bus home.

3. You might have a lot of different feelings about this experience. You might be sad, or happy, or nervous, or all of those things. You might cry, but if you don’t, you’re still a good mother.

4. You should check with the school about exactly where and when each child’s bus drop-off and pick-up locations are, because you will not be able to find the bus schedule online no matter how much frantic googling you do at 3:15pm.

5. Your children will want to talk about their day ONCE — if you ask them all the questions right when they get home, the only thing they will share with their father when HE gets home is, “I already told Mom all this. Go ask her.”

6. You should plan a fun day out of the house with your preschooler that first day so you don’t sit and stare out the window waiting for the bus to come back.

7. Your children will be exhausted that first week. Get them to bed early and plan something fun for Friday that doesn’t involve leaving the house.

8. If continuing to follow homeschooling blogs and Facebook groups is stressing you out, maybe stop reading them.

9. You might feel like you need to DO something with your time now. It’s ok to sit with that feeling for a year or ten before making any big life decisions.

Thanks to Sarah, Heather, Anna, Casey, literally every single person who went camping with us last weekend, and Jen Hatmaker for the advice, support, and encouragement, either online or in person!