How to prepare for back to school

There are a lot of factors that contribute to isphithiphiti (chaos) of preparing the kids to return to school in January.

While on holiday, people often develop new routines and adopt new habits, you may choose to relax with family, go out with friends, just sit and do nothing or entertain your hobbies.

When that happens, the body adapts to the new routine and getting rid of old habits or adjusting to new habits can be hard.

According to the founder of Knowledge for Men, Andrew Ferebee, adapting to new propensities is difficult because you could be attempting to do too much too soon and setting yourself up for failure.

Back-to-school is a hectic transition for both parents and kids more so for parents as they often take a hard knock on their budget. And this is usually because parents often stretch the budget during the festive season to include gifts, holidays, transport and Christmas clothes just to list a few. One of the best ways to plan your back to school budget is to write down everything children need before they return to class.

For an easy start in 2019, here are some of the tips parents can use to plan a proper budget for back-to-school and physically and mentally prepare children to go back to school to continue or start their schooling career.

Financially

1. Firstly create a list of all the school supplies the kids need, after that, you can categorise the list in priority or remove what is already available.

2. Bring the kids along to shop, this will ensure that you buy the correct fit to save time and money as you can avoid spending on transport to return or change the clothes or shoes to the shop.

3. Compare prices, because it is the festive season and you want to have some extra money to spend on yourself, save money by comparing prices before you shop. To save time, check the prices and stock availability.

4. Wait for specials before you shop, pay attention to back to school specials before you start shopping.

5. Avoid temptations; a budget plan is only useful when you adhere to it. Whether you prefer to shop in January or prefer to get it out of the way as early as December, remember the purpose of the budget.

6. Do not forget to include school transport fee in your budget, while you wait for your first paycheque of the year in January your kids still have to go to school

How to prepare children for school

1. Start a family book session, reading improves concentration. After chilled back holidays and hours spent on video games, you can start a family book season and take turns reading books to reduce the chance of children struggling to concentrate in class.

2. Return to normal sleeping hours. Start your usual school sleep routine about a week or so before school starts and wake them a bit early for a morning jog to make it easier for kids to re-adapt to early mornings.