Back to school planning guide for 2023 academic year
Whatever your family's structure, there are some things you can do the week before your kids return to school to ease the transition for everyone. Here are six back-to-school suggestions to make the first week easier for both you and your grade-schooler.
For children and parents, the start of a new school year is incredibly exciting. Parents get a hot cup of coffee yet again, and kids get to see their friends.
Whatever your family’s structure, there are some things you can do the week before your kids return to school to ease the transition for everyone. Here are six back-to-school suggestions to make the first week easier for both you and your grade-schooler.
1. Set up a calendar.
To keep everyone’s schedules organised, a calendar or whiteboard is incredibly helpful. Having a calendar will make your life so much easier, whether you want to divide it up by day or kid by kid. Set it up, coordinate the colours, and go over everything with your kids.
They might forget or lose track of what happened on what day, but they will still be aware that it is current, accurate, and present.
Make it vibrant, make it simple to read, and discuss it with the children.
Make a separate calendar that they can access if you have many children or if your own schedule is extremely busy. Kids are enthralled by current events.
When the week is planned out, you’ll also notice that everyone is a little less stressed. Children in grade school enjoy routine and knowing what is happening. Additionally, the first week is a bad time to forget a child somewhere.
2. Begin the school routine early
Routines can become a little erratic during the summer and the transition back to school routines can be difficult.
If you plan, you won’t be late in the morning while the kids adjust. Giving them a sense of control is critical.
Begin your bedtime routine two weeks before school begins. This will help kids stick to a regular sleeping schedule and get them used to an earlier bedtime.
3. Don’t be alarmed by changes
The first week can either break you or make you laugh. Understand that things may go wrong, schedules may need to be changed, or you may go to the wrong side for pickup.
• Don’t be upset in front of the children.
• Inform them that life is ever-changing.
• Maintain a light and enjoyable tone.
• Drink plenty of coffee (or tea).
4. Pack your bags early
Make certain that you are not scrambling on the first day of school or throughout the week to get the school supplies packed and ready. However, allow the children to participate. Give them their class schedules and bags, and let them pack them. You can double-check them, but let them enjoy themselves.
Don’t do it the day before, or even the night before. You want to have the bags packed before you start your usual nightly routine. The more people who participate, the better. The better prepared you are, the less crying you will have in the mornings.
If you need to drink the entire cup of coffee (or adult beverage) after the kids have gone to bed to deal with the fact that pickup took 30 minutes longer so the school could figure out the new traffic route, so be it. If you have a meltdown in front of the kids, they will dread picking you up for the rest of the school year.
5. Maintain an open line of communication
A new school year brings with it a slew of new feelings and experiences. It can be difficult to prepare your children for change. To prepare younger children for feelings of overwhelm, read a picture book.
And it’s never too late to teach elementary-aged children the skills they need to deal with all kinds of change.
Friends, there is no shame in falling off the waggon. It happens to everyone. Someone who sells calendars, for example.
There has never been a better time to start using a personal calendar. Transitions are difficult, and a change in routines is on the way with Back to School.
Purchase a calendar for your child and begin a Sunday routine of planning the week together.
6. First days should be celebrated
Do something fun in the morning and something fun in the afternoon to celebrate everyone making it through the first day. That first morning back (and the entire week, really) will be filled with mad dashes, forgetting things, possibly learning a new drop-off/pick-up routine, and at least one of you having a meltdown.
It is critical for the rest of the year that you and your children get through the first week without incident. However, if you keep these tips in mind, you and your children can have a fantastic first week that will lead to a fun and exciting school year.
