As strange as it may seem, summer break is already nearing its end. Parents across the country are preparing to send kids back to either an actual school or online learning, and that means developing new back-to-school routines that work best for everybody. 

Any parent knows that trying to meet challenges as they arise is a recipe for disaster. Planning is an important part of raising children, and going back to school any year, but especially this year, is no exception. To make sure you cover all your bases, these are our best tips for starting a back-to-school routine. 

Your Morning Schedule

The morning is the most important part of your back-to-school routine. It sets the tone for the entire day, but it’s also the easiest to lose track of and can quickly become chaotic. Without a strict schedule, the kids are suddenly out the door and off to school missing items or even food. 

Start by designating a specific time when everyone has to be out of bed, no exceptions (aside from illness of course), and then a second time when everyone, kids and parents alike, need to be in the kitchen ready to eat breakfast. If you’re a morning person, getting up a half-hour before the kids is especially helpful, even if it’s sometimes painful. To make it less painful, check out our next tip: 

Your Evening Schedule

Most people have either thought about or attempted to incorporate the morning into their evenings, but the evening is usually reserved for relaxation, so it’s easy to get lazy if you’re not careful. Start by preparing lunches in the evenings and keeping them in the fridge so that you can just take them out in the morning.

Take it to the next level by making the kids help out; afterall, it’s their stuff, and it teaches them how much work it takes to function. Not to mention it offers the benefit of your children eventually doing those things on their own without your instruction. You can prepare more than meals too – prepare outfits for the next day, put school books and homework in backpacks, and even get everything in the right place, so that waking up is easy. 

Plan Your Meals

We already mentioned preparing lunches, but what about planning lunches? Many families already plan their entire week’s worth of dinners in advance, but do you plan lunches beyond sandwich ingredients? This is another activity and routine that the kids can assist you with, leading to an increased sense of responsibility. 

Make Bedtime Sacred

With the rise of technology, bedtime has become relegated more and more frequently to the sidelines. This is not to say that no one is going to bed, obviously, but rather that bedtime is no longer as high on the priority list as it once was. While the specific time at which children get into bed might be the same each night, it’s easy to get lazy when enforcing lights out. 

However, making sure that bedtime is as rigid as possible sets the entire school year (and future school years) up for success. Getting good sleep is beneficial for our entire lives, and the earlier we can start being strict about when we go to sleep and how, the better. Even the crankiest of bedtime kids will eventually respect it. 

Use Technology

Technology can be your best friend during the crazy back-to-school season. There’s all kinds of productivity apps and programs that can streamline your efforts as you try to manage your time and your children’s time. 

For example, utilize a digital calendar like Google Calendar to make sure you’ve got all your bases covered, or a productivity app such as Evernote or Todoist to keep track of events or items you’ll need to pick up. There’s no shame in using all the help you can get. 

We Are On Your Team

Restrictions may have eased, but the effects of this pandemic will last a while longer. We hope our blog gives you helpful information. For questions about our learning centers, submit a contact form and we will be happy to answer any questions!