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Back-to-School Made Simple
As the carefree days of summer wind down, it’s time to start thinking about sending the kids back to school. While some parents welcome the arrival of the school year, others view it as a hectic and stressful event. There are some ways to reduce your anxiety level and make school days run more smoothly.
The key is to make an task list for each child. The list should include all the activities that need to be accomplished in order to get ready for school the next day. Rather than nagging your child to complete individual tasks, you can just tell them to complete their list. Be sure the chart includes the following activities, which should all be completed by bedtime:
- Empty backpack – This provides some guarantee that notes and papers from school get to you in a timely manner. You can use a tiered letter sorter for the kids to deposit their papers. Designate a specific tray for each child, as well as an "ASAP" tray. The ASAP tray would be for anything other than the routine school papers, such as notes, permission slips, etc. that require immediate attention.
- Put backpack away – There should be a designated place for backpacks – preferably near the door the kids exit to go to school. All backpacks should be placed in their designated spot the prior evening to eliminate a last-minute backpack search the next morning.
- Do homework – This one may seem obvious, but lots of times kids notify their parents about homework assignments as they are going to bed. By including it on the assignment chart, it’s harder to overlook. And it’s also a reminder to make sure the completed homework goes into the backpack so it makes it back to school the next day. Be sure to designate a specific spot for each child to do homework. Make sure it’s equipped with all the supplies they may need, so they don’t waste time looking for them.
- Make lunch – Even if your child is too young to make a sandwich, they should be able to help pack fruit, beverage, chips or dessert. And making lunches the previous evening will give you one less thing to do on those hectic school-day mornings.
- Choose clothes – You may want to teach your child to listen to the weather forecast the previous evening so that he or she can choose appropriate clothing for the next day. Make it a rule that they must stick with their clothing choice the next morning – no dawdling because they don’t feel like wearing what they chose the previous evening.
- Pack for extracurricular activities – This might include band instruments, sports clothing and the like. Once again, by having it ready to go the previous evening, morning fire drills can be eliminated.
Feel free to customize each child’s list by adding or deleting tasks as appropriate. Once the list is in place, you should find that your mornings run more smoothly and everyone gets out the door on a positive note. Here’s to a great school year!
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Copyright © Sue Becker, Piles to Smiles™. Reprinted with permission from from Piles to Smiles™.
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