The last day of school occurred a couple of weeks ago, or so it seems. Next came the glorious days of summer vacation, which felt like maybe three weeks long. And now back-to-school time is here, leaving us bewildered and wondering, “Where did summer go?”

Moms and kids are experiencing very different emotions right now. Moms are navigating serious highs and lows, sometimes within minutes. (Ever put your last kindergartener on the bus for the first time? Or the last time? That’s a heartstring-pulling moment there.)

Most moms, though, are just tired, as in, “I’m so ready for summer to be done!” They don’t mean they want snow and icy sidewalks and frozen windshields. They’re just exhausted by the annual headlong gallop of summer with all its kids’ sports, classes, camps, family reunions, vacations and so on interspersed with the few unscheduled days often accompanied by a long whine of, “I’m booooooored!”

Meanwhile, kids want summer to never end. New school supplies, backpacks and clothes are a dangling carrot to lure them toward the inevitable reality that school is going to start and they need to be in that building, in that classroom, in that chair, with that teacher, among those students, learning those lessons. But it’s often not enough.

Most adults can relate. Most of us can recall summer days versus school days. From our more “seasoned” point of view, we understand the fundamental value of school attendance and all the essential learning that goes with it. We’ve matured past longing for endless summer days. Mostly.

We also know that some of that learning goes way beyond classroom knowledge. Some of it comes from being shuttered in with peers of all types and personalities. Anything can, and often does, happen in a classroom. Lucky are the kids whose parents send them to school armed not just with backpack supplies, but also with certain skills that help them not only survive the school experience, but actually thrive in it.

Recently, I quietly listened to a group of earnest young moms talk about essential classroom survival skills. Most fell into one of three categories: self, security and service.

Some of the moms spoke of how difficult the school setting is, how confusing it’s become for an average kid to navigate, and how many challenges seem intent on shaking kids off course. Rather than trying to battle or eliminate the challenges, these moms outfit their kids with figurative armor against assailants trying to chip away at their foundations. Their kids are grounded in a sense of who they are, why they’re here, what they can expect at school and how to handle what comes their way. This sense of self could be a child’s greatest school tool.

These wise moms also spoke of ways to establish a sense of security for their children who, as we well know, face more difficult and sometimes downright dangerous situations at school than we ever did. They intentionally shore up their children’s emotional and mental security, believing that a child who feels safe at school is a child able to learn.

Finally, service factors into their equation. They believe that children with a balanced sense of self and security are prepared to reach beyond themselves to other students, providing an elevated, human-to-human learning experience. This reaching — in some form of serving another’s needs — completes a tripod-like foundation designed to expose their children to the richest of learning experiences.

Self, security and service. Not new concepts — just very effective when folded into a child’s learning experience. Certainly, they’re the best back-to-school tools a child could have.

Come to think of it, those of us still stuck in the school of life might progress, maybe even graduate, if we could figure out how to emulate our young learners.

D. Louise Brown lives in Layton. She writes a biweekly column for the Standard-Examiner.

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