Back To School
The Kids Are Ready, Are You?
The kids are off to school leaving you a little time to "get organized".
Here are a few helpful tips for getting organized and ready for a new school year, a new back to school time.
Start allowing extra time: Allow more time in the morning than you think you will need. The normal back to school crazies will go more smoothly if you have given yourself an extra thirty minutes or so to deal with stuff. Plan a few extra minutes to school or the bus stop the first few days, until you get a good feel for the traffic. A good tip for saving time in the morning is to lay out all of your cloths the night before.
Decide on a drop point: Decide where the kids will drop their bags, books and stuff when they walk in the door. They probably care more about raiding the fridge than putting everything in it's proper place. Decide on a good drop point for everything that comes home from school, one spot, the same spot every day. This is where the lost homework will be, where those permission slips will be and everything else the child will need for the rest of the evening and to have ready for school the next day.
Make a school calendar: As soon as possible get a calendar for each child and one for yourself. List all the events for the school year, for each child and for yourself. These events will probably be more important than other things that may come up later, and knowing they coming up may prevent forgetting or double scheduling yourself. While you are working on the calendars you might also plan time for the doctor and dentist visits.
Remember the lunch money: You may think this is a no brainer but I got a call this morning saying "dad, you forgot to give me lunch money." Get a system that works and stick to it. If you pay monthly, use the calendar to remember the days you need to pay. If you send cash every day, lay it out the night before, in a place it will not be forgot. If the child has an outfit laid out, make use of a pocket. If the money goes into a backpack, do it the night before. The less you have to deal with in the morning the better.
Start thinking about food:
Now is a good time to think about the new food demands that back to
school time will bring. Do your breakfasts need to change?
Do they need to be healthier or faster? How about the after school
snacks? My kids come home from school hungry and a good supply of
healthy snacks is a must. Your dinners might need some adjustment
also. You may want to eat earlier, or possibly later.
Planning your meals in advance could save a lot of valuable evening time
that could be spend helping kids with homework.
Get connected with the school: Most schools have online access to your children's grades, updated daily or weekly. If homework is not being turned in you need to know ASAP so you can get something done about it. This is an excellent way to check up on your kids without them knowing it. If all is going well they will never know you log in and check their progress once a week, unless of course you want them to know.
Back to school organizing is another article with tips for starting the new school year off right. My favorite is to color code your kids. Sure wish I had thought of that one when I had three girls getting ready for school at the same time. Make back to school time easier, and much less stressful, by planning ahead. Nothing beats a well thought out plan.
Related pages at Parenting Magic
Home Schooling :
Choosing A Preschool
Children Wanting To Learn :
Preschool Education :
IQ Scores
Montessori Preschool :
Making The Most Of K-12 :
Green Schools
