I’m sure you can see the commercial playing in your head right now (for those that have no idea what we are talking about, here is the commercial).

For many parents, this is a joyous time of the year – finally, a quiet house! The rest of you may not be so happy. The images of your happy child climbing onto the bus in their first-day-of-school outfit, clutching their new backpack, are replaced with nightmares of paperwork and schedule changes. Fear not. We’re here to help with some tips & tricks.

Shopping

We know you have probably been busy running around for the typical items – shoes, clothes, bags, lunchboxes, etc. When it comes to the supplies the kids will need, leave it to the school to decide. Some schools send out lists ahead of time, but many do not. You may find yourself running around wasting your time and money, which no one is happy about. Chances are that your kid will come home with a list from his/her teacher of what is needed for class (unless he/she is in high school, where each teacher will give a different list!). Until then, keep the notebooks and writing utensils to a minimum.

Organization

Sure, the kids need to be organized, but so do you!

Keep a family calendar. Locate it in a central place, like the refrigerator. Mark every appointment on it for every member of the family, and encourage your kids to add their events as they come up. It will help you to avoid scheduling conflicts, and it will teach your children the invaluable lessons of independence and self-sufficiency. Instead of asking you for the answer to a question, perhaps they can reference the calendar. Want to get really creative? Use a different color pen for each member of your household.

Folders, folders everywhere! Kids come home with a lot of paperwork, so set up a folder for each child in a main area. Teach them to put anything that you need to see into that folder on a daily basis, preferably as soon as they come home. Young children will need a lot of help with this, but they will eventually catch on and it will make things easier in the future. Folders for each grade level are helpful as well. Instead of throwing their art and report cards into a box or a drawer, put them into the folder marked for that grade. At least it will be somewhat organized! Use a binder if you want to cut down on drawer space.

Those backpacks always get thrown on the floor somewhere, so set a specific location in your house for those and other school-related paraphernalia. This will cut down on you tripping over one more thing on the floor.

Routines

Changing the schedule will be tough for the family… especially mornings.

If you haven’t done so already, start waking the kids up earlier. This will be a shock to kids of any age. When they are tired, younger kids will be more whiny and the older kids just won’t talk to you (then again, they may be more whiny, too). Just remember that it is truly in their best interest to change their internal clocks before the first day.

Have the kids lay out their clothes the night before. This will cut down on the early morning fights, which no one is ever in the mood for.

Breakfast can be rushed, even skipped at times when everyone is running around. Kids burn a lot of energy and they can’t run on an empty stomach. Make it easier by setting the table the night before. This will help for the first few weeks of school.

Fun Stuff

Let your kids know you are thinking about them and love them. Sneak a card in their schoolbag or place it on the breakfast table to be found on the first day of school. Take a picture of your kid leaving the house or getting on the bus every year. Write notes and leave them in their lunchboxes; with older kids you can email or text them. Little things like these will keep the lines of communication open for years to come.

Mom Says: My favorite back-to-school tradition was going out to breakfast with my mom on the first day. Just make sure to get your kid to school on time… my homeroom teacher from senior year never forgave me.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 26th, 2009 at 5:06 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. If you use RSS, you can subscribe to the RSS feed , or if you would rather receive an e-mail, please subscribe to the e-mail in the lower right hand corner of this page. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.