As the end of August draws near, all parents have one thing on their minds… back to school. Getting organized and back into the swing of the school year is often a difficult task for families. With new strict schedules, homework assignments, and extracurricular activities the days will soon be packed, with little room for error.
In order to help all of you busy parents, we have searched and come up with a helpful checklist to get you ready for the back to school season.
1. START ADJUSTING BEDTIMES
Start to establish regular bedtimes for your kids, that they will keep throughout the school year. Ensure that they are getting enough sleep every night, by creating at least an hour of quiet time, where they can read or relax, before bedtime.
2. START PUTTING TOGETHER THE FAMILY CALENDAR
As both a visual and organization aid, sit down and create your monthly calendars for this school year. Schedule in all extracurricular activities, appointments, school holidays, and important family dates to ensure you know when and where everything is taking place, and to avoid any mishaps.
3. CREATE A DESIGNATED HOMEWORK AREA
By creating a quiet and designated homework area, your kids will know when it’s time to play and when it’s time to work. It’s important to separate play areas and work areas, so the kids don’t get distracted when doing schoolwork. By setting aside and hour or so every day for the homework area, it can also help with productivity and concentration.
4. GET ALL THE SCHOOL FORMS TOGETHER, SIGNED, AND READY TO GO
As the beginning of the year edges closer, you may be able to find important forms on your school’s website. Have a look and make sure that your kids go back to school with all the necessary forms so they are ahead of the game, and able to participate accordingly.
5. ORGANIZE ALL THE SCHOOL SUPPLIES YOU HAVE AT HOME BEFORE GOING TO SHOP – THE SAME GOES FOR CLOTHES!
Once September rolls around, we often forget how much stuff we may have left over from last year. Take an hour and go through all of the school supplies you have at home before going out to buy all brand-new items. You never know what you’ll find that’s still perfectly good to use. This will save you not only on money, but on time spent running around to different stores. The same can be said for new clothes, although we know how fast kids can grow!
6. INTRODUCE YOURSELF, AND ESTABLISH COMMUNICATION WITH YOUR CHILDREN’S TEACHERS
The best way to keep track of how your children are doing throughout the school year, is to have an established communication with their teachers. By introducing yourself and discussing the goals of both the school and your children’s education, you can easily keep updated on how they are doing in class.
7. THINK ABOUT AND PLAN HEALTHY LUNCHES FOR WEEKDAYS
We all know how little time there is in the morning, between getting everyone up and presentable, eating breakfast, and getting out the door, it can often be a hard task to put together a proper lunch for the kids to take to school. Plan ahead this year by planning out healthy and substantial lunches, either during the weekends or the night before. Preparing healthy lunches will be beneficial to both your children and yourselves, and you’ll know that they are eating properly throughout the day. This will help with overall energy levels, concentration, learning efficiency, and just generally living a healthier lifestyle.
8. SPEND QUALITY FAMILY TIME TOGETHER – BEFORE AND AFTER THE SCHOOL YEAR STARTS
The most important thing is that your children know they are loved! Spend as much quality time with the family before the year starts and everyone’s schedules get crazy. Connecting as a family will help to reduce strife, and the kids will know they are still important even when everyone is running around all day. Keep this going as much as possible throughout the busy school year!
Hopefully this list will help you get everyone organized and back on track before September hits. Use this as a guideline, but also throw in some of your own organizational skills as you know best how your family works.
Now go and enjoy the last few weeks of summer and sunshine!
