Hey Mamas! How are you doing with the school year so far? If the transition from summer has you a little frazzled (I know I’m right there with you!) then we have an amazing roundup of tips and “mom hacks” that you can use to make this the best school year yet, including advice from teachers and therapists. We have organized them by category to make this roundup a quick and easy resource for you, so be sure to bookmark and return whenever you need it!
*Routines and Schedules: If your family is anything like mine, odds are good that your summer was a little less structured and you need some ideas to reset the rhythms for the school year. Here are some tips from a fellow mama and teacher on how to use routine to get you back in the swing of things by focusing on a few things that really matter. For a slightly different perspective, you can look at these sanity savers as you begin to build your new schedule for the mornings. If you have older kids, be sure to start involving them more in scheduling and looking into their own routines. We have a great post on organizational tips for your middle school student HERE.
*Meal Prep and Easy Meal Ideas: If you read the school routines and schedule posts above, you’ll notice that meal prep and meals are a common theme. Feeling stuck or in a rut with the same old meal prep? Let’s start with the most important meal of the day- if the morning routine has you stressed about breakfast, be sure to check out these easily prepped breakfast ideas to start your day off right. We’ve got two posts full of lunch ideas for you- this post includes lots of pictures and ideas of how to set yourself up for school lunch success by rotating lunchbox staples. This post, from our sister site, has even more fun ideas for school lunches, I’m definitely trying a few of these next month. We hope this helps you all as if you are like me school lunches can be one of the most anxiety provoking parts of the school year.
Big Feelings and Butterflies: Speaking of anxiety, we want to help you and your littles with any school anxiety you may be feeling. I absolutely love this post on fighting the “school anxiety monster” (Hint: it starts with being able to identify it! definitely check out the post on for more). Perhaps your little is anxious about the start of school rituals that won’t necessarily come up the rest of the school year. We have an article on practicing for those inevitable ice breakers so your kid can feel confident and start the year right! I also love this article from our sister site of school year tips from a therapist, her tip about how you should let yourself “raise butterflies” might be my favorite, as well as the reminder that we don’t have to get it right all the time- we have a lot of chances to give our kids a great school day. Don’t forget, sometimes big emotions can be diffused with something as simple as a good after school conversation or a before school positive affirmation.
Advocating for your kid and other specific learning needs: Sometimes anxiety is not just normal start of school nerves. You may want to look into this article about how a 504 plan may help a child with anxiety in school. There is also this awesome interview with Dr. Ali Kauffman where she goes over strategies for parents of kids with learning disabilities. Sometimes we all need some encouragement and to remember that parents have big feelings too. If school conferences roll around and you find yourself tearing up (over the good or the bad), please know you aren’t alone and keep moving forward in this parenting journey!
Whew! We hope that helps. Any other topics you’d like to see us include next year? Let us know and we’ll pass that on to our team of writers! We love writing articles that resonate with you.
