It’s that time of year again, and you’ve got a long list of things to do. Student forms, lunch accounts, after-school care and sports, not to mention school supplies! If this is the year you made a vow to get more organized, here are nine tips to make the struggle easier and the kids happier.
HOMEWORK BATTLES
Homework can ruin the evening for everyone. My best tips are to give your child as much choice as possible, like which subject to work on first. Serve a snack to avoid the hangries and build in plenty of breaks for every twenty minutes of homework. Mini dance party! If your child is really struggling, break their work and chores into smaller pieces. Bonus tip: Keep a homework station nearby. Whether it’s a rolling cart or a drawer, having a designated spot for supplies will make life easier for everyone.
THE NEVERENDING LAUNDRY
If you just sang that out loud, I think we need to be friends. Oh, the unending madness of washing, drying, sorting, folding and ironing. Who am I kidding? We only use the iron for melting craft beads. But I have eliminated all the sorting by giving each person their own laundry day. Try keeping socks where the kids keep their shoes, not in the bedrooms. It only took years of my kids running back upstairs at the last minute and making us late for me to figure this one out.
SCHOOL LUNCHES
If the kids insist on packing lunches, preparation is key. Next to your shopping list, post a list of lunch ideas to avoid the dreaded, “There’s nothing to eat.” We use clear bins marked “school snacks” where they can easily find what they need. My kids know that if they add to the grocery list, they have a much better chance of their food being replenished. We keep a dedicated drawer full of lunch containers. Bonus tip: Pack up some of dinner (before serving it) and save for tomorrow’s lunch.
LUNCH NOTES
If your kids are packing their own lunches, you’ll have time to do the fun stuff like write them notes! If you keep packs of stickers and index cards in the kitchen, you can grab a sticker, google a joke, and put them on the card together. Add in a compliment or reminder about viola lessons and the note is complete. My kids look forward to sharing their joke of the day with their lunch table. And yes, the teenagers still love them!
CHORES
Our kids do chores without being asked, because screens are off until they do. Each child uses magnets to mark their progress. Chores can be daily (homework, practice instrument, clean room, and empty lunchbox) or weekly like laundry. Our kids have even added their own optional chores when they have a personal goal like language learning or a second instrument. Bonus tip: Let them pick out their own fun timers to use for instruments, screen time, and homework breaks.
BIRTHDAY BOX
Are you in the stage of life where there’s a party every weekend? It hit a point for us where it was becoming excessive, and the birthday box was born. On birthdays, our kids are encouraged to keep their favorite gifts and add the rest to the box. Shop sales and add to the box. When it’s time to go to another party, just shop in the box and add a treat and a handmade card. Bonus tip: Tape a note to each gift with the name of the giver to avoid an awkward regifting mistake.
NO MORE OUTFIT DRAMA!
Try laying out two complete outfits the night before and have them choose one in the morning. It’s a win-win because you both got to choose. To give them more independence, but still avoid the early morning screams of “I don’t have any clean underwear!” try labeling cardstock with the days of the week. Let your kids decorate them and punch a hole in each one. Every Sunday, have them put five outfits on hangers, underwear and all. Pop the days of the week on each one.
FIND A SCHEDULE THAT WORKS FOR YOU
Let your kids help you build a routine based on their needs. Some kids love to come right home and get all the work done and others need to relax and play first. Consider starting the school sleep routine a week early to get used to the schedule. Younger children love to follow a morning routine checklist. You’ll love not having to nag them to brush their teeth or grab their instrument. Bonus tip: Start your morning routine earlier than you think you’ll need to.
CLEAR EXPECTATIONS
So often a meltdown can be avoided just by making sure no one in the family is blindsided by an event. Create a family calendar that they can refer to, color-coded for each person, and add special days to look forward to! Create a landing station like a bulletin board near your calendar where kids can pin field trip slips and final exam schedules. Bonus tip: Add the dinner plan to your calendar and you’ll never hear those three dreaded words. You know what they are.
If I have given you even one morning without tears, then my work here is done.
Happy back to school!
Views: 0
