It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year – 5 Tips for Organizing Your Back to School

For a few years there was a commercial (I believe it was for Staples) that ran for back to school shopping.  It had a casually dressed father soaring on a shopping cart shopping for back to school supplies.  The kids walking behind him were absolutely miserable.  The music playing is a Christmas song, “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year“.  For most parents, after a long summer break, they are ready to get their kids back to school.  I know personally I love routine (or should I say I thrive on routine) and summer makes me a little crazy with the relaxed schedule.  My husband is probably reading this thinking, “yeah she could lighten up a little”, but thought process is easier for me when there is an agenda for the day.  I am one of those excited parents dropping off my kids on the first day.  I love that they are in a controlled environment and I don’t have to listen to them fight for a few hours!   I miss them for awhile during the day, but soon enough they come back to me.

For most kids (at my sons’ school the term kids is thought to be reserved for baby goats, but I still can’t help but use it!), going back to school is torture.  They are exhausted, nervous and feel overwhelming dread about sitting in a classroom and studying again.  Not to mention homework!  Since when did parents have to host a second school session at home with hours of homework.  Maybe that is just the way school is preparing them for the real world…our work is never done!  I am not aware of one family who actually can’t wait for the homework to be assigned, yep, not one!  I can’t blame children for hating homework, but again it is a life lesson to build a functioning, working  adult.

How can you make this transition between summer lazy and school crazy go off smoothly?  One solid way is to start early.  I mean, don’t think you can travel the weekend before school goes back, let the kids stay up late until the day before school and expect to have a high functioning child in the chaotic morning!   Organizing your daily routine ahead of time will be beneficial to all in the long run.  Here are a few ways to make sure going back to school is less of a headache and more of a celebration (even if it is just yours alone!):

• Move your kids bedtime back 15 minutes a night for 3 weeks until they are going to bed at a decent hour.  If your school bedtime is 8 pm, don’t expect your child to willingly go to bed then if they have been up until 9:30 every summer night.  This will slowly get their body clocks back to where you want it. 
• Make sure you have your morning routine down before the first day.  Almost like a fire drill, practice your busy mornings a few times before the first day.  Plan an early morning activity on those days that will help mimic a school departure.  For example, have an activity planned in which the kids will need be dressed, lunch or snack packed, and books or activities to take along with them.  
• Practice preparing the night before.  We know mornings are chaos, no matter how well you plan something inevitably goes awry. Get as much done the night before as possible to avoid the screaming “Hurry!  We are SOOO late!”  chants we parents love to cry! 
• Let your children know what will be expected from them.  If they have chores, after-school activities, and homework, there is little time for play.  Have your child see where their time will be spent on a calendar and help them to realize time management (IE don’t waste time) is a huge role in allowing them enough time to be a kid, too.  The sooner they do what is expected of them, the sooner they have time to do what they want (within reason of course).  Let them know when they will have to do homework and when they can have fun.  Establishing this type of a routine will help in the transition.  If you establish the rule upfront, you will get less hassle once school is underway.
• Help them establish routines.  Work with them to find out how they would like to do things.  If in the morning they would rather eat before getting dressed, then see how productive they are when doing that.  Even if you would do things another way, taking ownership and responsibility for themselves will help them actually do what they are supposed to do.  Guide when necessary, but don’t lecture and tell them “I told you so” when they realize maybe this isn’t working.  We all make mistakes and part of growing up is learning from them.

Give yourself enough time to get the kids ready for back to school, so it really can be The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!  Next post I will talk about school supplies and setting up a homework station.  Also, I have previously posted more Back to School tips here on my blog…check them out:  http://afreshstartblog.wordpress.com/2008/08/.

What have you been doing to help ease the transition of back to school?  Let us know your tips and tricks by leaving a comment below!