The coffee maker is all set up, you’ve given yourself a pep talk, but you’re starting to have nightmares about sleeping through your alarm, forgetting your son’s backpack or putting two completely different shoes on the wrong feet.
The idea of sending your kids back to school after several months out of a regular routine might sound stressful. You may even be a little anxious. It can be tricky to get back into a groove. If you’re looking for ways to make that transition easier or to start the school year off right, we’ve got you covered.
Taylor Morgan, special education teacher, shares a bit of her expertise on gearing up for and navigating the back-to-school season. Morgan has worked with 18-month-olds, preschoolers and even high schoolers. She hopes her advice will help parents with kids of all ages and abilities.
Here are her six tips and tricks for parents and their kiddos during back-to-school season:
Plan backups
Let’s say you need to go in early or your kiddo misses the bus—have a plan for two or three alternative ways of getting your child to school, she says. Remember to add those backup folks to the pickup list at school. Have a backup plan in case of the flu, stomach bug or snow day. Who will be able to come over? Will he or she have to go somewhere else? If inclement weather is in the forecast, touch base with your No. 1 to prepare. This will allow ample time to move down the list without having to scramble the morning during the morning at issue.
Simply schedule
Create a master schedule that includes the time you need to leave the house, who picks up the kids on your late nights, who takes them to practice—whatever else is in your family’s mix. This may especially help couples who have hectic work schedules and must take turns handling after-school activities.
“A bedtime schedule is the most common to think of and set, but morning schedules are just as important and easily overlooked,” Morgan notes. Each step counts.
Do what you can the night before
Reduce the hustle and bustle and morning stress by skipping the “Oh, it’ll be fine. I’m too tired” sentiment the night before. Shower and pack lunches that night. “That saves time for last-minute morning surprises, like the dog getting sick, accidentally hitting snooze too many times or just moving slower on some mornings,” Morgan says.
If you are planning to put certain items in lunch boxes and discover you’re all out of something, this gives you time to stuff an alternative into the bag. Pop the bag in the refrigerator and grab it on the way out the next morning. “This may also be beneficial for setting out clothes for the kids and you the evening before,” she adds. Backpacks can be stuffed, and sports bags packed and ready.
Delegate jobs
Assign several age-appropriate tasks to the kids. They’ll probably enjoy participating. Each child can empty his own lunch box and make sure it gets to the designated spot in the kitchen, and the all can put their spoons in the dishwasher (or at least the sink).
Shoes can be taken to the bedrooms, and homework folders can be placed in the homework station. Maybe the oldest is in charge of gathering snacks while the youngest feeds the dog. “This will free up so much of your own time, and you will have less to worry about and possibly forget,” Morgan says.
Create a homework station
You don’t necessarily need a desk or an office for the kids, but assign one area that includes a basket or one basket per child (whichever you find most convenient for the space you have), she says. All homework folders go in the basket to check for papers that go back to school, papers to throw away and reminders. It will be easiest to tend to them as soon as you see them.
“This is one of those evening jobs where you can sign the permission form and put it back in the folder, throw away graded work, or hang on the refrigerator the new month’s school calendar,” Morgan says. This area will also be the expected spot for kids to work and do homework. Keep it organized and uniform.
Pro tip: If a library book or paper goes missing, you have an idea of where it is.
“The homework station can be equipped with materials children might need, including pencils, rulers, paper and other supplies so they do not spend 45 minutes searching for an eraser.”
Don’t procrastinate
We all do it, but don’t wait until the last minute.
The principle applies to many tasks:
- Don’t wait until the last minute to turn in the enrollment forms.
- Don’t wait until the last minute to choose your backups.
- Don’t wait until the night before to start practicing the new bedtime routine.
Adjusting to a new routine—especially sleeping and waking—can be difficult. Although Morgan doesn’t insist parents practice everything down to a science, she believes it helps to start practicing and getting your body and your kids’ bodies acclimated to waking up to an alarm or not taking naps (which is so tough, she empathizes).
“If a student is struggling to stay awake, then they cannot effectively learn,” Morgan says. “Just like I cannot effectively do my job, they can’t do theirs.”
She understands both parents and students wanting to enjoy the last few days of summer, so she suggests maybe for a few days setting an alarm, but then designating a couple of days you can sleep in but still wake up before noon.
“Sometimes, I even have to practice setting an alarm this week, and then next week it’s set for 30 minutes sooner, and the next week 30 minutes sooner than that. You will know what you and your family will do best with.”
Emily Morrison is a freelance writer, former copy editor, full-time mommy and Disney fanatic who lives in Independence with her husband, 4-year-old son and dog.