It’s hard to believe it’s nearly time for school to start again. Whether you have recently moved to a new home or you have lived in the same home for years, back to school can be hectic and stressful both for parents and students. Here are a few tips to help everyone get off on the right foot:
Plan Ahead
*Encourage students, even young students, to set out clothes and accessories the night before. You can avoid the last-minute scramble for that missing shoe by looking ahead of time.
*Make sandwiches the night before and leave them in the refrigerator. In the morning you can slip them into lunchboxes and get out the door a few minutes faster.
*Will your student purchase a lunch at school? Many schools now have a place on their website or the district website where parents and guardians can deposit more money into lunch accounts, taking away the worries that your student may lose money before it makes it to the cafeteria. Call the school’s main office or check the website.
*Designate a place for backpacks and other items that need to go to school each day. Whether it’s on a special hook, cubby, or chair in the bedroom or by the backdoor, set a routine at the beginning of the year.
*Help out the teacher with three identical Transformers or Tinkerbelle backpacks hanging in the cubbies. Make sure your child’s name is clearly marked on his or her backpack, jacket, lunchbox, pencil case, etc.
*If your student has individual folders for each subject, encourage him or her to choose different colors for each subject. If your student needs to use book covers, consider coordinating book cover and folder colors for each subject.
*While you’re out grabbing school supplies, why not stock up on some printer ink and paper? And as those dozens of papers come home from school, consider recycling by using the back of old papers as recycled printing paper.
*Look for a store in your area that offers ink refills. Often they will give you a discount or free refill after you purchase several refills.
*Students starting middle school or high school may worry about remembering their daily schedule. Make sure they have a copy of their schedule in their backpack or in a student planner for quick access.
