As a young, childless schoolteacher, I remembered a great idea from one of my student’s parent for future school years. Her words of wisdom for preparing for back to school with routine are something I have been using for years now to help the transition from summer to school: “Get you back to school routine going, and the sooner, the better.”
The back to school routine isn’t just getting the supplies you need, going to Meet the Teacher Night, and getting a good night’s rest prior to the first day. There is so much more you can try out to see if it helps you and your family.
Here are a few things to think about with your routine as the school year inches closer.
- Sleep schedule- the summer allows for time to stay up late and to sleep in. This is a drastically different sleep schedule from the school year. Get your children back to a school sleeping schedule at least one week prior to school starting. This includes bedtime and waking up. The first week is hard and tiring enough for all involved, so getting that routine up and running is imperative.
- Breakfast- Plan out meals that work with your morning routine. How much time do you and your child have to eat in the morning and what food lends itself to allowing this to happen? My kids wake up very early and are not hungry, so we eat a lighter morning meal, but this means they for sure need a midmorning snack.
- Lunch- Lunch is offered at a certain time of day at school and with only a short amount of time to eat. Be sure to think of food that is easy to open and quickly eaten if packing a school lunch. If you plan on having your child pack their own lunches, model what can go in their lunch, an appropriate time to pack it, and how to pack it. Depending on your summer lunchtime, think; is there a need to adjust the time of meals or durations to help prepare for lunch at school?
- Travel times and spots- It may be helpful to plan meeting spots for bus stops and after school pick up. Drive, bike, or walk to those locations ahead of time so your child knows where to go and what’s expected. This will also help you see how much time is needed for travel. The first few days of school you will need the extra buffer time since back to school kinks are getting worked out on the school’s end.
There is always so much to think about and prepare as back to school time comes. Hopefully, these tips can help set you and your family up for a smooth ride as that time nears.
If you are looking for more advice or tips to prepare, click here at a past article I wrote from the lens of being a teacher, that I find to be relevant each year.
