5 Tips to Help YOU Get Ready For Your Kids to Go Back to School

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It’s Back to School time! For your kids that means back to school and regular schedules. For you, it means getting back to juggling the many demands of parenthood; from work schedules to academic requirements to after school activities, there’s a lot to keep on track.

Today we’re sharing 5 Tips to Help YOU Get Ready for Your Kids to Go Back to School. Yep, you read that right. Our post shares tips, tricks, and lifehacks for you - the parent! - to make the transition from summer back to fall schedules as smooth as possible. From tips like creating coordinating calendar schedules to handling back to school shopping in a methodical way, our list will help make life a little easier. Sounds good, right?

Check Out The Tips To Make Back To School Easier

Reintroduce Kids to School Schedules

Summer can wreak havoc on all the hard work you put into creating set schedules for your kids. That 7:00 p.m. bedtime? In summer it may seem too early to go to bed at that time. However, as schedules fill up and kids exert more energy during the day it becomes necessary to make sure your kids are getting enough sleep at night. It’s time to introduce your kids to school schedules like earlier bedtimes and earlier mornings.

Your morning routine needs to be clearly set to avoid tantrums and tardiness. Start working with your kids to get them ready and out the door by 8 a.m. Talk to your kids about how they will get to school; are they walking, taking the bus, being driven by you or someone else? What do their after school commitments look like? Are they prepared to handle homework assignments? Discussing all of these things in advance with your kids will help them be more prepared for school to start. It’ll also help you take off some of the pressure!

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Create a Monthly Lunch Menu

Handle school lunches, NOW! When it’s 7:00 a.m. and you’re trying to make breakfast, do your kid’s hair, walk the dog, feed yourself, get ready for work, and make lunch, it’s too hectic. By the time you drop the kids off and get to work you’ll be in an incredibly frenzied state of mind. This year, banish the stress by preparing ahead of time.

Take your kids with you to the grocery store and discuss the importance of selecting nutritious food to put in their lunches. Let them pick out a favorite treat to add to the lunch. The night before work with your kids to make their own lunches. You’ll be teaching them how to prepare ahead of time and doing a quick cooking lesson. Pack the lunches in the fridge so the kids can just grab the lunches and go in the morning.

Another tip is to learn to love being a morning person. It seems painful, I know, but your body can get used to waking up earlier. Waking up an hour before the kids get up will give you some ‘me’ time to start the day and have a chance to get a head start on all the preparations for the day.

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Plan a Visit to the School

Starting school can be emotionally distressing for kids. They’re entering a new environment and it can be scary; especially for younger kids or kids starting at a new school. Take the time to plan a visit to the school.

Show your kids where their classes will be and meet their teachers. Find the lunchroom, the bathrooms, recess area, front office, and library so your kids know where all of these places are in the school. Have them introduces themselves to the administration. The Principal and other administration work to make school a better place for your kids. Teach your kids to respect and be friends with authority figures.

If your children will be walking to school or taking a bus, do a practice run with them. Help them learn bus etiquette and how the schedule works. If they’re walking to classes, walk them through your neighborhood to the school. Show them safety procedures and which neighbors they can go to in case of emergency.

Image: Parent Resource Center

Family Calendar

If you’re like me, your school year calendar is jam-packed with after school activities, work obligations, community and church events, dentist visits, etc. It’s hard to keep track of all of it. Instead of typing everything into my phone, I like to have a large calendar easily visible that everyone in our family can see. This central family calendar keeps track of everyone’s schedules.

Each person is in charge of putting their own schedules on to the calendar in a specific color. This helps make the calendar easy to comprehend and know who needs to be where at what time. It also teaches your kids scheduling skills by having them list their own needs and requirements. This should include homework assignments, quizzes, and tests!

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Plan School Shopping Ahead of Time

Last but not least, take a methodical approach to school shopping this year. Instead of buying whatever seems to fit and is on sale in a frenzy, slow down and first take an inventory of each of your kids needs. Make your kids go through their clothes and sort out things to keep for the coming year and pieces that no longer fit. This way, you’ll know if your kids need new pants or if they just want new pants. Explain to them the family budget for clothing and school supplies so they can understand the value of money. Let them make some of the decisions; they can either buy $80 jeans, or they can buy 4 shirts. It’s up to them. If they value quality over quantity or if they’d prefer more shirt options. For the pieces that no longer fit, start a donation pile.

Get a list of the school supplies your children will need from their school. How many folders and notebooks will they need? Pens, pencils, crayons, rulers, erasers? Know all of this before shopping so you aren’t spending unnecessarily.

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