Here's Liz Atwood with Tween Tuesday: 

School’s back in session, but there isn’t much excitement at my house. The eigth-grader waited until 9 Sunday night to put his paper in his binder and write his name on his notebooks. The third-grader moaned and sighed all the way to school Monday morning.

I did my best to generate excitement. There were new clothes and new school supplies, even some they didn’t need, but wanted anyway like the pencil sharpener shaped like a globe, the mechanical pencils, and multi-colored pen sets. I reminded the boys that they would be seeing their friends again and pointed out the exciting things they would learn.

Somehow they didn’t believe me, although the older one at least is looking forward to his last year of middle school because he knows it’s soon on to high school and a driver’s permit. Third grade doesn’t seem to have the same lure. Cursive writing and multiplication tables don’t sound like they'll be as much fun, I guess.

How are your kids adjusting to the new school year? Any tips for getting them excited about being back in the classroom?

Photo: A 3rd grade student at William Paca Elementary School clings to his mother as they wait for the opening bell in 1983.  Baltimore Sun Staff File Photo by George Cook.