If you hadn’t guessed by now, one of my favorite topics happens to be education and I really love back to school time! The new school supplies, the excitement to learn in the air, and getting back to a solid routine. This can be a challenge though for many of us and I wanted to share some tips to help make this transition a smooth one!
First, get a desk calendar for your child, not only can you use it to keep track of their after school activities and play days, you can also use stickers to help them keep track of their homework, good behavior, and chores. Right now we have a few of these around the house for our 4 kids. For our 5 year old and 7 year old we have one just for feeding the pets because it is very important and great motivation for them. It means we do not have to nag them and they can help hold themselves accountable by seeing if they have done certain things yet in a given day.
Wipe boards are specially helpful for things that change day to day like reminders for certain groceries or family needs, leaving notes for other family members, and to do lists. Get organized now!
Shop Green! As parents we spend a lot of money on school supplies and it is ever more important these days to set the right example for our children so be sure to shop eco-friendly when it comes to supplies. It is good for the heart and might help you be more joyful about your purchases.
Another tip is to make sure everyone is healthy. It is a great time of year to remind your children of good hand washing practices. The CDC has a great page on just when and how this should be done that you can get some further information on! Remember that you should be rubbing your hands for at least 20 seconds with soap on them. Hum the “Happy Birthday” song from beginning to end twice. Another idea is to have a home air purifier that can help deal with germs. Take 2 minutes and wipe down door nobs when you know illness is around! When our children get sick we are quick to get them to the Doctors office but many mothers go without care because either they are too busy or don’t think themselves enough of a priority and so put off caring for themselves till they are really sick. You don’t need to wait and you can go on an online doctor site, like this from Medicines 2 U. You can even order your prescription online, which is really handy when you work a lot of them times that pharmacies are usually open.
One of the other challenges to a new school year happens to be mornings! Start trying to get up early at least a week before school starts. Remember it is said it takes about 21 days to start a new habit. Set out rewards for getting up on time and out of the house without fuss! Set outfits out the night before to help things go more smoothly in the morning. Make sure shoes and backpacks have a safe and secure place to be stored so those are never a problem to find. Make lunches the night before when ever possible. Set the coffee pot on it’s timer if it has one to help reward parents for getting up early too. The more we an automate the morning, the easier it should be. Set rules such as no TV till after a child is ready to go. Make the car trip fun with audio books or music the kids like, hand held games, or fun verbal games with Mom like I-Spy or another game the kids like. Often getting young kids in the car is one of the harder parts so do what you can to make it enjoyable for them and not a rushed and stressful event.
I hope everyone has a great back to school season that is not only healthy but fun!
