10 Back to School Tips for Parents
As summer comes to an end, it’s time to gear up for back-to-school. And I am here to help you with back to school prep. During vacations, you tend to get out of routine, you relax not worried about homework and getting to school on time, and just when school starts it gets overwhelming. And if you are busy Mom it gets more difficult. Hence for an easy transition for me and my kid, I prefer to plan ahead and be organized. So in this post, I am sharing 10 Back to school tips for Parents like you. These will help you be prepared and make back to school easier for working moms and busy moms.
So let’s get started.
Back to school preparation with 10 Hacks for Busy Mom
Here are 10 Back to school tips for parents to help you and your kids get prepared for back to school.
Tip 1: Get on a sleeping schedule
This is one of the most important things you must do to prepare to get back to school. It’s easy to stay up late at night and sleep in late in the morning during the summer months, some might even get used to a nap during the day. But once school starts, you and the kids need to wake up early. So based on the school timings start with a sleeping schedule for your kid so they get enough sleep and are not sluggish in the morning and worst sleeping at school. Also, you will need to be up early in the morning and attend to many chores to get the kids out at the right time, and ready to tackle the day ahead so it’s good to get yourself also on the right sleeping schedule so that moms are up happy.
Tip 2: Build a morning routine
If you are a mom of young kids you know the struggle of the morning. The kids want to do things on their own and they do it wrong and you have to convince them to let you help them. Oh, the charade. You need to make breakfast, and pack tiffins. Get them ready, and make sure they eat something. To do all these and keep your sanity you must build a morning routine. A morning routine that will help you reduce the chaos and be productive. You should build a morning routine that will meet your and your family’s needs. To build your morning routine you should read my post 5 Steps to build a morning routine that is best for you.
Tip 3: Re-evaluate your evening routine
You should also consider re-evaluating your evening or night routine. And if you do not have one definitely make one. You can start by assessing your current evening routine. Making small adjustments can help us find time more time and make our mornings easy. Also, you would need time to help your child with homework and extra activities. These all can be well managed by making a good evening routine. To find out more about evening routines for busy moms you must read my post, Busy Mom Evening routine:12 Things to do.
Tip 4: Run a mock
This may sound weird to you but I run a mock 1 week before school starts. This includes everything that would be done on the regular school day, right from getting kids you in the morning to bedtime. And things that I need to do like packing lunch etc and mark time.
This serves 2 main purposes, firstly it helps us get ready to follow the new routine and get used to the new sleep schedule and secondly, it let me time things to make sure the routine and schedule prepared on paper are practically possible too. And it always makes me realize that either I had overestimated my capabilities or I had missed some small things here and there that can make me late in the morning. Based on the learnings from the mock I either tweak the routine or make sure to prepare some things in advance to save time in the morning.
Tip 5: Back to school shopping
The most exciting thing about getting back to school is the back-to-school shopping. I don’t know if it’s just me or others too feel the same, but I get excited for back-to-school shopping as a parent the way I use to get excited as kids. As a parent, you need to do more things than just be excited, make sure you get the list of books that would be required. Make sure you have the finances saved or planned for the same. If you are a working parent set aside a weekend in advance to take kids for the shopping. Also, keep an eye on online deals for getting some discounts.
Here are some of the items that you will need to shop for:
- Books
- Stationary
- Backpack
- Tiffin box, bottles, lunch bags
- Clothes
- School shoes
- Book covers
- Socks
- Hair accessories
- Hygiene items like napkins, sanitizers, etc.
Tip 6: Get organized for back to school
Honestly, there are so many things to take care of when school starts that being organized is the only way to tackle it well. You should make space for the new books, get rid of those you do not need, and organize the school supplies. I recommend making a cabby for each kid, where they can or you can ( if the kids are young) keep all the things that they need for school the night before. So that in the morning mom need not run everywhere to find things and have all the things accessible this will save time too. I also, make and organize my tiffin basket with all the necessary items for tiffin box backing like napkins, cutlery, food-grade packing paper, tiffin liners, etc in one place so that I save time in the morning. Getting organized will make things very easy and help you be consistent.
I have a detailed post on getting organized you must read 10 Tips To Be An Organized Working Mom.
Tip 7: Sync family schedule
Syncing a family calendar is important if you are a working mom or a busy mom to make sure everything is running smoothly. It can be making arrangements for kids pick up and drop off, their activity class, or helping with homework. It can be very difficult for one person to take care of everything. If you have more than one child you have to coordinate well to make the schedule most effective. You need to sit with your partner to discuss who will be available and when to do things and coordinate accordingly. You can share a Google calender or have a simple paper calendar displayed at a common place to have all on the same page.
Tip 8: Meal planning
Making meals for the family get daunting when you have to do it all day and take into consideration the choice of all the family members and with schools getting started you have to make sure to provide healthy tiffins to kids too. A good way to tackle this is to plan your meals for the week things make it easier for you to make meals and tiffin every day and also, and you can buy your groceries for the week based on the meal plan and also do some meal preparation on the weekend to make things easier for you on the bus weekdays.
Tip 9: Make a chore chart
To make kids responsible and not dependent on you for getting ready to school you should make a chore chart. Based on your child’s age and the chores they can do you should prepare a chore chart. I love to make a chore chart for my kid even though she is young and cannot do all the things necessarily by herself. It helps her understand the things that need to be done in the morning and those that need to be done before going to bed. It helps her know what is expected at different times of the day and I hope will help her build a routine.
You can include things like morning hygiene, laying out clothes for the next day, completing homework, making school bags ready, etc. You can overlook the things to make sure they have done it rightly.
Tip 10: Set up a command center
Setting up a command center at home helps you get the organization in your daily life. It will be a center for all the family members to access important things. I prepare to have a command center for essential things that we often look out at in the morning when leaving for work or school. These include things like house keys and car keys. Any papers you need to carry. It can be filled with all the tools and information you need to manage your household, from bills and calendars to important contact information and to-do lists. By having everything in one place, you can eliminate the time-consuming search for important papers or reminders and have a go-to space that keeps you on track. With a bit of creativity and planning, you can design a command center that fits your needs and lifestyle, helping you streamline your daily life.
Conclusion
So these are the 10 tips to make back to school phase of life easier for you as busy parents and for your kids too. A little preparation will result in a smooth transition without getting stressed. Being organized and making your kids ready for school will make your involvement in kid’s education easier and also set them up for success.
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