Summer is here, but in the blink of an eye, it’s going to be time to send your little ones back to school! If you’re anything like the average parent, we all struggle to get organized when autumn kicks back around. Children’s schedules get a lot busier as they get older, and throwing school supplies shopping on top of the million little things we have to do just feels like a lot.
If this happens to be your case as well, here are 6 tips I’ve found really helped in my journey to becoming more organized. Let’s begin.
Tips to Help Your Family Start School Organized
1. Communication is Key
You want to stay on top of your children’s after-school activities as much as possible. A back-to-school planner that you can pin on the refrigerator is a great way to keep everyone in the loop, say the experts at Blank Calendar Pages. Click the link to download a free, printable August calendar today and get a hold of your hectic mom life!
As well as this, set up an inbox for all your children. This is something you can place on the living room table or in your home office. When your little one has a permission slip that needs to be signed or graded schoolwork, they can place it in their inbox. This is a fantastic, fun way to streamline communication with them.
2. Develop Morning and Night Routines
Morning and evening routines can get a little crazy, especially if you have a large family. Does everyone always want to shower at the same time? If you have younger children, do you end up trying to dress them for school just as the bus arrives?
You can solve this problem by creating a family schedule that determines when everyone showers, eats, and gets dressed. You can adjust this as needed. When all your family members understand their roles and what’s expected of them, your mornings will be a lot smoother.
3. Plan Meals
If you have more than one child, it can be difficult to plan a meal every single day. They probably get bored and complain. Try and sit down as a family and talk about the day with your children.
For this reason, consider frozen foods that can be re-heated. There is nothing wrong with preparing ahead of time. In fact, it’s recommended! Make sure you ask your kids to make their lunch selection the night before.
4. Homework Routines
You want to set very clear expectations to your kids about homework. Every day when they get home from school, they should place their homework in their inbox. After dinner or whenever the time’s right, pick a comfortable quiet space to help them if needed.
5. Communicate with Their Teacher
Having your child’s teacher on your side is a must! Communicating with them will help you realize what subjects your little one is struggling with the most and where they are excelling. This will also help you understand the best way to advise them – your teacher can give you some tips.
6. Talk to Your Kids
Give your kids the time to vent. They probably want to express how their day went, and often this includes frustrations at school.
Implementing a time every day to just sit down with them and talk during the summer will build this healthy habit for when the school year rolls around.
Children will get frustrated often when they don’t understand a certain subject or have social problems – having you there to talk to when they’ve had a rough day is healthy. It helps them organize their thoughts and think about problems with clarity.
Organizing for the upcoming school year can be tedious. However, nailing these 6 tips down can change everything! One final piece of advice is to have fun with this journey! Your children won’t be little forever, so appreciate their milestones while you can – be there for them when they need you most!