Back to school season can be a stressful time for kids and parents alike. After all, summer is an enjoyable time filled with free time, lax schedules, and zero schoolwork. So when school marches back onto the scene, announcing itself with new clothes, school supplies, and early mornings, it can leave everyone wishing for a few more weeks of summer.
Luckily, back to school doesn’t need to be a total drag. Here are 6 great ways that kids and parents can get back into the school groove with ease.
Early To Bed, Early To Rise
If everyone is going to start the school year on the right foot, the most important thing parents can do is help their children get back on their school year schedule early. The night before the first day of school simply won’t do if you expect that first morning to go smoothly.
Instead of waiting until the last minute, start transitioning to the school year bedtime and waking hours a few weeks before school starts. Over a few days, shift your child’s bedtime back, bringing an end to late summer nights, then start waking them at an earlier hour. Waking up early for school is the hardest part for most children, particularly older children in the habit of sleeping until noon. They may still be cranky on that first day, but at least they’ll be used to the routine.
Make Space For Homework
Any child will tell you that homework is a drag, and any parent will tell you that homework drags on forever when kids have to hunt down everything they need. One of the best ways to avoid interminable hunts for crayons and glue is to help your child create a homework space in advance.
If you have more than one child who needs space to focus, tri-fold boards are a great way to help them each set aside some room to work. Cut a tri-fold board in half and use it as a barrier between children. You can also staple folders or pockets to the board to hold paper, pencils, and other supplies. Furthermore, assign each child a large pencil case to hold their homework supplies, and clearly mark them with each child’s name to avoid squabbles over glue sticks.
Cut Down On Back To School Shopping
Back to school shopping is for many children both a miserable experience and a very enjoyable one. They get to pick out cool new duds and empty mom’s bank account, but they also have to model dorky sweaters and bicker about back to school shoes.
If done correctly, however, back to school shopping doesn’t need to be such an expensive undertaking. Rather, it just requires several kinds of preparation that most families neglect. First, unpack all of your kids’ fall clothing and see what still fits this year. Also, check to see if there’s anything suitable for younger children, or even close family friends. You may do best to slide older siblings’ clothes into your other kids’ wardrobes while they aren’t paying attention. This actually makes it far less likely that they will refuse to wear the secondhand goods.
Once you’ve assessed what you have, help your child make a list of what they absolutely need to replace or add to their wardrobe. Then allow them a restricted budget for additional fun clothes. This is the best way to stay on a budget and (hopefully) get out of the mall without any tantrums.
Take Note(s)
If you have students starting high school or college, one way to help them succeed, without becoming a helicopter parent, is to provide study skills guidance before school starts. One strategy is to nix highlighters from your school supply list. Students often lean too heavily on highlighting, thinking that it will help them pick out useful information. Unfortunately, if they can’t tell what’s important, they end up with pages filled with neon blocks. Without highlighters, students have to focus more on picking out what’s important in a text.
It may also help high school students if you review bedtime policies with them. Make it clear that they may not stay up late in order to cram for tests the next day. Instead, tell them that they are expected to start studying earlier. If necessary, help them to set out a basic review structure they can use in the lead up to an exam. This bedtime rule can be a hard one to stand by when your student declares they aren’t prepared for a test, but standing firm will help them to learn responsibility and not make the mistake of waiting until the last minute to study for future tests.
What About Mom And Dad?
Students aren’t the only ones who may need help getting back into the school schedule. In fact, after a few months of late dinners and spur of the moment plans, it can be even harder for mom and dad to get back into the school groove. After all, kids have to get back into the classroom, entirely altering their schedule, but not much changes for mom and dad.
If you find yourself struggling to get dinner on the table in time for that enforced bedtime, use those last late nights before school starts to prep some meals and store them in the freezer. These meals can help fill in the gaps during those nights where work runs late or someone has an urgent project they need help with. You can even extend this strategy into the school year by doubling up weekend recipes and storing the leftovers for a later date.
Keep A Calendar
It once may have been enough for you to keep a small planner with meetings and coffee dates, but school, extracurricular activities, and multiple kids mean that you need a different system. Every child old enough to write should have their own age appropriate calendar and parents will need a master calendar. Try color-coding everyone’s activities to provide a clear representation of what everyone is doing.
In fact, don’t even stop the color-coding there. Instead, assign each child a color that applies to just about everything – not just the planner notes, but water bottles, lunch boxes, folders, and more. Never again will you be wondering who left their water bottle behind or whose folder the dog is chewing on.
Back To School
If you’ve been considering a return to school, contact us today! At Orion College, we take pride in our flexible school options and offer a wide range of pragmatic degree programs. Whether you’re interested in nursing or business administration, we have a program that can work for you. Back to school doesn’t have to be all about the kids – let us help you achieve your career goals!
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