6 Tips to Make Back to School Easy

Back to school we go! While I so love everything that comes with summer break, I am pretty ready to get back to a normal routine at this point, and I think the kids are too. But summer has a way of making you a little relaxed in areas. And when school starts up again, you have to get yourself together, put on your parent brain and get organized again! Below are 6 tips broken down, to make back to school easy!

1. CREATE GOOD SLEEP HABITS

• Be consistent: Kids thrive on consistency…they need consistency! Especially during the school year, it is crucial to create a consistent bedtime routine.  It will look different for each family, but the important part is that you find what works best for your family, and stick with it.
• Create a bedtime routine: This goes hand in hand with consistency, but it is important to set a routine. In our house, if our bedtime routine is thrown off even just a little, it also throws off our kids. They get use to their routine and it is what makes them comfortable.
• Get your kids adequate sleep: One of the most active parts of the body during sleep, is the brain. For this reason, sleep plays a very important role in learning.  It helps us to cement the new information we are taking in and actually remember it.  (This is true for adults too)

2. MAKE HEALTHY MORNING HABITS

• Wake up before your kids: This step makes all the difference in the world! Wake up 30 minutes before your kids to have a cup of coffee, start breakfast, or do a morning devotional. Having a minute to yourself before your kids wake up will set the mood for your day, I promise!
• Try to prepare a healthier breakfast: I know this one can be so hard, especially if your kids aren’t big breakfast eaters (like mine). But, figure out what they like, even if it is just a bagel and cream cheese. While I am all about being healthy, sometimes you’re winning if you can get your kids to eat breakfast at all…I get it!
• Create a morning chore routine: The mornings can get really chaotic especially on those days, you just can’t get them out of bed! But setting up a morning chore routine can help. It doesn’t have to be anything crazy. Keep it simple, but consistent. For example, make your bed, brush your teeth, put your shoes on beforewalking out the door…
• Be present: Sit down and talk to your kids during breakfast.  Do a morning devotional or just talk.  Sometimes just letting them know they have your attention in the morning, before they go into a full day of school can mean more to them than you know.
• Pray: We are sending our kids off into the world for 8 hours a day, they need prayer, y’all! Make it a habit to pray with your kids every morning.  Pray for their teachers, other students, and protection!

3. 
   

   GET ORGANIZED

• Plan out your lunches for the week: Making school lunches is one of my least favorite things, but having a plan for the week makes all the difference.  Also, get your kids involved in school lunches. Talk through it with them, making sure they like what you are packing. Otherwise it will just get thrown away.

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• Plan ahead: Block out 30 minutes each night to make lunches, pick out clothes for the next day, talk through the schedule if after school activities apply, think through and prep breakfast for the morning. Do whatever you can to plan ahead and make the morning less chaotic.
• Create a family calendar: Between sports, school projects, work, field trips, and school emails, there is A LOT to keep track of! It’s helpful to create one family calendar that includes all of this info. There are some great apps available that allow you to sync all of your info into one place, and share this information between multiple users.
• Delegate: You are not weak if you ask for help! Sometimes it is crucial to sit down on a Sunday afternoon, plan out the week, make lists and see what you need to tackle and what you can delegate. This has been huge for my husband and I.  I use to try and take everything on myself and things were falling through the cracks. When we sit down and decide who does what, it makes all the difference.
• Purge: Go through your kids’ schoolwork once a month to toss the things you don’t want. File or scan assignments you want to keep. The papers pile up quick.

4. FIND A GOOD ROUTINE TO TACKLE HOMEWORK

• Remove distractions: Some kids can do their homework at the kitchen table while you’re cooking dinner, while other kids need complete silence. Find what works best for your child and then stick with it.
• Take a break: While you might want them to just get their homework done right away, they probably feel like they need a break after school.  After all, they have been sitting for 6+ hours.  Let them have a snack, chill for a bit, and then tackle their assignments.
• Make a Homework Station: Create a place in your home that is theirplace to do their If they work best at the kitchen table, well great. But if they don’t, make an inviting area somewhere in the home where they can focus.
• Teach your kids to prioritize their assignments by making to-do lists with deadlines: This is especially relevant for older kids.Making a to-do list is a great way to prepare them for the real world. You can even help them use apps like iHomework or MyHomeWork to help organize their assignments.

5. CELEBRATE ACCOMPLISHMENTS

• Be your child’s biggest fan: There are so many pressures put on our kids today, they need to know we have their backs and are their biggest fans. Make a big deal about the small things, celebrate their accomplishments.
• Listen to your kids: Bedtime is a primetime therapy session in our house. Our kids open up so much when we lay down with them at night. This time is priceless and I hope and pray it never goes away.  We talk about the day, listen to their fears, what reallyhappened during the school day. Be engaged, take an interest in their thoughts and emotions and listen!
• Make a reward chart: Kids thrive on reward charts in the classroom, so why not implement it at home too. Maybe your child is struggling with reading. Come together, make a plan and a reward chart. This gives them something to reach for. (Even as adults, we make mental reward charts for ourselves at times. Kids need them too).

6. PREVENT GERMS

• Get your kids on a good probiotic that they take daily: Check out this post for 7 great probiotics on the market for kids.
• Put a few drops of tea tree oil in your kids shampoo to prevent head lice: A suggested dosage is 2 drops of tea tree oil per ounce of shampoo.
• Take elderberry syrup: There are endless benefits to elderberries and they have been proven to ward off many strains of influenza.
• Keep a hand sanitizer in your kid’s backpack: Sure, they may not use it, but at least it is there in case they do (they just might surprise you)!
• Use essential oils in a roller ball: There are so many great essential oils available for cold and flu prevention. One of my favorite preventative oils is OnGuard by Doterra. I put the oil with a carrier oil in these roller balls. If I know some germs are going around, I just rub this down my kids backs as a prevention.

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Download my Ultimate Back to School Mom Guide Here!