I Hate to be the One to Tell You This, but... (back to school is closer than you think)

I hate to be the one to tell you this, but ... It's almost time to go back to school. You might have a whole mix of emotions about the back to school season, or you might be bubbling over with just one.

We can't stop time from ticking, so let's enjoy every second and be as prepared as possible for the first day of school!

How Can I Make The Most Out Of The Last Weeks Of Summer?

1. 🪣 Remember that bucket list you made with your kids at the beginning of the summer? Dust it off and pick a few activities, crafts, day trips, etc... to check off the list before the end of summer. You won't regret spending more time with your children, no matter how old they are.

2. 📅 Make small adjustments. There is no need to start a full on revolt in your household, but slowly start making back to school schedule changes. Small changes can take away a bit of the shock when a strict schedule returns to their lives. Here are some ideas:

• Don't close those blackout curtains so your kids can naturally wake up a little earlier
• Start your bedtime routine a few minutes sooner each night
• Have your kids (and maybe even you) get used to picking out their outfits before they go to bed
  
  

3. ✅ Create a checklist (or a few checklists). I won't tell you how many times my kids and I have arrived to school and someone didn't have shoes on. True story. Shoes are on our "We're in the car, last chance to grab something" checklist. We have quite a few different lists we follow at the beginning of the school year. We don't use them forever, but they're nice to have until we've retrained ourselves to the new schedule. I'll admit, they are mostly for me. You'll have to customize your lists to your family needs, but here are some ideas:

• Before School Checklist
• We're In The Car Checklist
• After School Checklist
• Before Bed Checklist
• School Supply Checklist
• Meal Prep Checklist
  
  • Side Note: I'm completely fascinated by the idea of capsule meal planning. I haven't tried it myself, but this could be a way to simplify grocery shopping and meal planning.
    
    

4. 🛒 Do your back to school shopping early. I learned this the hard way. With 4 kids, you can't wait until the weekend before school starts and expect to find everything on the list still in stock. Now we shop early, and load the backpacks so everything is out of sight and out of mind, but ready to go.

5. 🍽️ If you're really ambitious, and I'm crossing my fingers that this is me this year... you can even make food preparation easier for the first weeks of your back to school schedule. Stock your pantry and fridge with grab and go breakfast items and after school snack options. You could even make those, throw everything in a zip lock bag to dump in the crock pot later, freezer meals. As I'm typing this I'm already dreading this step of back to school prep, but my daughter is reading over my shoulder and she's really excited to help with this step. I'm going to soak up her positive attitude and this is going to be a mommy/daughter activity now 🥰

6. 🧃 If you have a little one who is getting ready to start kindergarten, I'd highly recommend packing their lunch a few times before school starts. Let them practice unzipping their lunchbox, opening packages, eating within a reasonable time frame, and throwing ONLY trash away. I have had to dig through plenty of trashcans to find containers, lids, utensils and lunchboxes. Although I love being the hero who saves the day, I'd rather not dig through the trash. Practice is good!

And remember, if you have a child who is in need of reading support, you can mark that off of your to do list because we've got you covered! Check out our LIFT OFF! to Literacy Reading Program for more information on how we can support you.

I'm sure there are things I'm not thinking about right now that would make your back to school season smoother, but the most important thing to remember is to enjoy it.

One step at a time. We can do this!