Preparing for the return of the school year is a daunting task for many parents. With school uniforms, stationary and some back-to-school anxiety felt by the child, it is easy to feel overwhelmed. To make the return to school easier, here are our top five tips that will ensure you and your child are organized.
1. Create checklists – Checklists are an easy way to organize your thoughts and keep you on track. Create lists of tasks and appointments that need to be attended to before the school year starts – things like cleaning backpacks and lunch boxes, checking that shoes and uniforms still fit, picking up any text books needed for the year ahead.
Schools often provide a checklist of stationery and other items required for the classroom. If yours doesn’t then check your local stationery store like Staples.
A checklist may also be useful to manage the morning school rush. Pin a list to the family fridge with the key morning tasks such as 1) Getting dressed 2) Brushing teeth and 3) Packing lunchboxes
2. Sort out Sleep – The key to a good routine is sleep. The National Sleep Foundation recommends that school aged children get between 9 and 11 hours of sleep1. Two weeks before the kids return to school, encourage them to go to bed and wake as if they would during the school term. This will help re-establish a healthy sleeping pattern and reduce the morning sleep ins! Limiting screen time at night and making sure children are active during the day are also great ways to encourage good sleep.
3. Focus on Nutrition – Breakfast is arguably the most important meal of the day for both parents and children. If you are short on time in the morning, a breakfast smoothie is a quick and easy way to get nutrients into your body. Try adding 1 scoop of Kids Good Stuff (for the kids) or Good Green Vitality (for you!) to your morning shake. This provides your body with essential nutrients and energy to fuel your day. Click here for more nutritious breakfast ideas.
4. Prepare in advance – Meal preparation and planning is a key tool that can be used to keep you organized throughout the school week. Read more about back-to-school lunch box tips here.
5. Plan for Homework – Homework is dreaded by many students as well as parents. To lessen the load and encourage good homework habits, you can organize your child’s schoolwork by developing a homework plan. This can be manually drawn out on a calendar or with a scheduling app.
If you have a designated space in the home for your children to complete their homework, declutter the area before they return to school. It’s easier to think clearly in a clear space, plus the clean out will allow you to take stock of stationary you already have so that you don’t double up. Labelling drawers and folders will also encourage your children to stay tidy and organized.
Make it easier and reduce your child’s back to school anxiety by planning ahead and getting organized.
References:
1https://www.sleepfoundation.org/children-and-sleep/how-much-sleep-do-kids-need
