Well, it's that time again. The dreaded back to school time. Gosh, where did the summer go? ☀️ However, it is coming up and there is nothing we can do to stop it, however, there are some things we can do to get a jump start and already put a plan of action into place and start practicing it before that first school morning.
Now is a good time to establish a plan to get organized and implement ideas to help those busy days go smoothly.
Here is a list of ideas that have always helped us.
Believe it or not, your successful day starts the night before.
1- Establish a night time routine. This includes prepping things for the next day such as laying out your clothes for that day. This helps so much because everyone is not scrambling around in the morning time trying to figure out what they are going to wear. Of course you need to make sure laundry is caught up. 🙃. You can even designate a little area and plan your outfits for the week and prefold them and put them into little bins or in the closet on hangers. Whatever works for you.
2- fix lunches and snacks the night before and put in the refrigerator. You can go one step further and take a day and premake a load of sandwiches and some snacks and put in ziploc bags in the freezer. By the time it's time for them to eat lunch, they are ready to eat. It also helps keep cold lunches cold. Now if you are taking a hot lunch, you will probably need to prepare it right before you leave and put in a thermos. I've known alot of moms to have stations in a pantry for lunches and snacks. If the children are old enough they can grab things for their lunches and fix their own. Jordan Page from Fun Cheap or Free had an excellent lunch system and organization for her children's lunches and how they are to fix their lunches. You should check her out and if you want creative lunch ideas for kids, check out Jennifer Fudge from Bunches of Lunches. I love all her lunch videos. 😋
You can also take a day and just preprep breakfasts. Like breakfast burritos, egg bites, sausage and biscuits, smoothies, granola with yogurt, or granola bars, fruits. Either you can grab something and sit and eat before you go out the door or you might can grab and go and eat on the way. Some people have time to sit down and eat, some don't. Try to find a creative way to get something in the kids tummy before school. Some kids eat breakfast at school and that's awesome. 👌
3- have the kids take baths or showers at night. When they get up the next morning, all they have to do is wash their face, brush their teeth and fix their hair.
4-establish a good bedtime routine and get them to bed so they can get a good night sleep. Start winding them down early and turn off electronics. Electronics stimulates the brain and it can't relax. You have to literally turn off and unplug before your brain can relax and be prepared for sleep. Sleep is very important for children and brain development so they can learn and function through out their day.
5- Parents, you have to go through those back packs and check all those papers and etc. You might want to do this every night or even when they come home from school. So you can be prepared to assist with homework, get ready to buy or make something for class projects or fund raisers or class parties.
Alot of things can be started as soon as they walk through the door when they get home like #5. 👍
When they get home, at least give them a few minutes down time. They have been at school all day where it has been noisey, they are over stimulated, probably starving , etc. They might just want to chill out, unwind, and have a snack before supper. Give them some time to talk about their day if they want to. Younger kids will be more apt to do this than older kids. As your kids get older, they want more privacy and start clamming up. That is a story all in itself. I cover alot of this on our Parenting Page.
Designate a time for homework. Be available to assist when needed. Maybe have them sit at the island or bar or table of the kitchen while you cook. This way you can make sure they are doing it. Lol.
If your kids have sports or extra curricular activities after school that puts you getting home late, you are really going to have to step up your game and come up with a plan.
Moms, if yall work, you might have to incorporate a plan where the whole family can pitch in and help in the house hold and do chores to make the home function smoothly for everyone. Design some chore charts that are age appropriate for each kid. Everyone in the home is going to be busy everyday. This will help the home survive and still function. Put someone on laundry duty or come up with a system where everyone can help. Someone on dish duty after meals, floor duties like sweeping, mopping, vacuuming. Dusting duty. Holding them accountable for cleaning their rooms. I cover alot of these things on our Homemaking page too. I created chore charts for our kids too when they were little and I had a reward system. You can come up with one too. It doesn't always have to be money. Believe it or not, even toddlers and preschoolers can learn things too. They are so eager to do what everyone else is doing. Not only are you helping your home to run smoother, you are teaching accountability, work ethics, and life skills.
If your a stay at home mom, then these things shouldn't be a problem. Just make sure your available for when they all get home and greet them. Make sure you are rested and on top of your game. Busy nights and days is where meal planning comes in handy. On those busy nights due to extra curricula activities, get those crock pots and instant pots out. Meal prepping and baking ahead meals comes in handy too. Check into batch cooking or freezer cooking. Those dishes can be taken out of the freezer that morning to thaw and when you get home, pop it into the oven and bake or if it is prebaked, then just heat it up and serve it. Bam.
School time doesn't have to be hard. It takes planning and organizing. Come up with and implement your own system that works for you and your family to help the day go smoothly and the home to function.
I hope alot of these tips have helped.
You can check out my video version here:
Also, there is a way to still get a healthy, nutritious breakfast in all of you before heading out the door in a flurry. I have a whole playlist on our YouTube channel dedicated to Make Ahead Breakfasts. These breakfasts are made ahead of time and put in the freezer or refrigerator for grab and go or quick sit down breakfasts to enjoy before everyone leaves. They are easy to put together and store.
I will leave this link to the whole playlist for you. After you watch them be sure to save them and visit them frequently. Also book mark this post so that way even before school, you can refer back to it as a refresher especially half way through the school year if you fall off the bandwagon and get lost in all the craziness.
Here is the Make Ahead Breakfast Playlist:
Make Ahead Breakfasts Playlist
Enjoy the journey.
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