It's important to get into a bit of routine for back to school. It helps with getting the kids in the school mode as well as organizing yourself into the school grind. The lunch boxes. The school bus pick up. The field trip forms.
Here are a few tried-and-true tips to help with back-to-school:
Get on the school clock. Say goodbye to the late summer bed times and lazy summer mornings. Get you and the kids onto the school clock as soon as possible. School night bedtimes. School morning wake ups.
Do an out-in-the-morning school drill. Like a fire drill, drill your kids on getting out the door and off to school. Jackets on. Backpacks ready.
Lunch box practice. Pack a few lunches in your school lunch box containers and have kids practice open and closing the containers. Sounds crazy but it's a good way to see if kids can open that thermos or not.
The right backpack. Try out backpacks and make sure they are the right size and fit for your kids. Homework gets heavy as the kids go into bigger grades and you want to ensure they have a pack that will protect their backs.
Homework. Schedule homework into your family calendar. I know, you've got karate classes and doctors appointments and favourite t.v. shows there now...but you have to put homework on the calendar and make it a daily activity.
School bus know-how. Figure out school bus drop off/pick up location and check it out. Is it in a good area? Do you know any other kids taking the bus? Any neighbours around to watch kids while they wait?
You can learn even more ways to get organized and transition from summer to school on our Back-To-School 2014 page.
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