Going back to school is always a hectic time, filled with varying emotions for parents as well as children. While your little ones might be brimming with excitement at the prospect of seeing their friends again or meeting new ones, you’re probably running around trying to get all their supplies ready and prepare an efficient scheduling system for the year ahead.
Fret not, here are some useful tips on how to get the kids – and yourself! – ready for a new school year.
Limits and Effective Scheduling
The single most important step before organising a household schedule for your child’s activities is setting limits. What is an acceptable time for homework vs. leisure time? How long will they sleep in at the weekend? How often are they allowed to have sleep-overs with friends?
It’s great to be clear about these questions from the outset so there are no grey areas and everyone knows what to expect. Have a think about the various scenarios you might all find yourselves in and establish the rules from the start.
Scheduling, Scheduling, Scheduling
You cannot expect things to fall into place! You’ll need to be very organised to ensure you optimise your time around school and extra-curricular activity timetables.
Our advice is to put up a weekly calendar somewhere easy to see like the kitchen, where everyone in the family can fill in appointments and commitments as they come along.
Additionally, make use of shared online calendars with your spouse so you both know what’s coming up before you accidentally double book yourselves!
Breakfast is (still) the most important meal of the day
Remember to always set your child up for a successful and energetic day with a healthy breakfast. Get them involved in making overnight muesli bowls together with you, to have some extra family time!
By ensuring you have a healthy breakfast every day, you’re setting your child up with healthy habits that they’ll keep when they’re away from home, so don’t skip this step.
The perfect School Bag
It’s not easy to have all the supplies needed from the start, but get your child ready for school with a comfortable, easy to wear schoolbag first, and the rest will follow. Don’t fall into trendy fashion traps – go for simpler designs, but if your son or daughter has a favourite cartoon character, why not brighten things up a bit with a themed schoolbag?
The key thing to consider is that the bag is functional and comfortable on your child’s shoulders, after that you can get creative.
School Supplies
Essential supplies such as pens, pencils, notebooks, are always useful, regardless of any additional kit that the school might inform you of. Get a good base of essential supplies first, then make sure you ask at school to top up with the other supplies they may need.
Don’t leave it until the last minute
Any shopping or wardrobe prep should be done early so you’re not running around in rush before your child’s first sports day, for example. Check their wardrobes and see what they can still wear and what needs to be replaced.
Also, make sure you include your child in the shopping process. What sort of clothes and shoes do they like or find comfortable? How do they feel about last year’s football boots?
It’s important to let them take part in the decision-making process and get their input, so they understand the process of shopping and feel valued at the same time.
Tidying up and organising at home
Once the busy school season is underway, you might find yourself overwhelmed by paperwork, scheduling, and constant washing up! To avoid this, prepare by getting a system in place for organising all the important paperwork such as key receipts, sign-up forms and vaccination records. If they’re easy to find when you need them, that’s one load off your mind.
Set up a system for putting away dirty clothes with the kids – either have their own washing basket or set a rule about how far in the house they’re allowed in dirty kit (hint: don’t let them go far!). This will make the washing easy to keep an eye on and not let it get out of hand.
Children going back to school is a joyful time, but also a busy and hectic period, so don’t be hard on yourselves as parents if you’re finding it overwhelming. Instead, use these hints and tips to stay calm and be prepared for all situations. Good luck!
