5 sure signs back to school days are here
Ding! Ding! School bells are ringing. Yellow school buses are returning to their residential routes. Kids are strapping on backpacks and heading back to class, most sporting a bittersweet mix of reluctance and eager anticipation.
What are the surest signs that it's time for students to go back to school?
Here are five clear indicators that class is back in session.
1. Facebook feeds are filled with school schedules.
"When's your lunch period?" has become a popular status line for social networking kids of all ages.
Check your photo feed on Facebook, and just count the number of student schedule images that pop up. Yep, school is starting, and students are comparing class rosters. And, nope, they're not counting academic credits. They're comparing notes on study halls, gym classes and lunch hours.
2. Stores are stowing school supplies to make room for Halloween.
Have you been to the mall or big-box discounter lately? They've been hawking pencils, pens and spiral notebooks for half the summer.
Seemingly overnight, those crowded aisles of Back-to-School Supplies have been replaced by ghosts, goblins and trick-or-treat candy. Almost like magic!
Gee, it must be time for school to start.
3. Kids are getting up before noon.
Circadian rhythms, be darned. Cell phones are equipped with alarm clocks now, and youngsters know how to use them.
Either that, or the early birds among them are texting up a storm to rouse their sleepier peers.
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Once again, preteens and teenagers are beginning to recognize the light of day before the clock strikes 12. Sure, many of them stagger bleary-eyed out the door, grabbing granola bars and toaster pastries (if anything), but let's give them a few points for rolling out of bed before 7 a.m.
4. New movies are fewer and farther between.
The big blockbusters of summer have hit the multiplexes and moved on. Movie buffs must wait till Christmas vacation (or at least Thanksgiving) for the next hot titles.
Do we dare to believe Hollywood filmmakers want kids to hit the books, instead of the movie theater?
5. Gas prices are dropping.
Maybe the pundits blame politics, weather conditions, oil spills and other seemingly logical factors on the high gasoline costs of summer vacation.
We know better.
Parents everywhere breathe sighs of relief when back-to-school days arrive, and it's not just that kids are returning to class. Don't we all appreciate paying less at the pump?
However you spot the signs, it's time for school to start. Class is in session!
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