11 Simple Back to School Ideas for Busy Working Moms
Do you still get that flutter in your stomach when you think about the first day of school, even as an adult? I do. When I was a kid, summer break was fun but I loved school. The blank slate offered by a new year of school was always exciting and a little scary at the same time.
One of the great things about being a working parent is that your family schedule doesn’t completely change during the summer. You probably still go to work (unless you’re a teacher, of course). That means you’re still probably in the groove of being somewhere each day.
Still, your morning routine might look a little different. During the summer, for example, my daughter goes to day camp. I drop her off at camp instead of putting her on the bus. The packing list is a little different for camp (swimsuit!) than it is for a regular day at school. Even though we’re still getting out of the house every day, we definitely have to switch gears a little when school starts back up.
These 10 tips will get you and your kids ready for back-to-school in record time!
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School Supplies
If you’re not completely devoted to the experience of taking your kids shopping for school supplies, or you just don’t have the time, rest easy. There are some options! My daughter’s school, and others in our county, offer school supply ordering through a company called Schoolkidz. If your school is in their system, each grade’s supply list is pre-loaded to the Schoolkidz database and they’ll ship the supplies right to the school. It’s amazing.
If your school doesn’t participate in a school supply ordering service, Amazon is the way to go! Amazon’s Back to School site even breaks down the supplies into different grade levels for easy shopping. With prime shipping, you can’t beat it for stress-free back to school shopping.
Keep in mind that many classrooms pool school supplies. Check with the teacher or other parents before buying any super special supplies for your kiddo. It would be sad to have your child’s special glittery unicorn folder end up in the community supply pile.
Check Gear
Most school gear won’t need to be replaced every year, but it’s a good idea to check for wear in case something is ready to be retired. Check the backpack for rips, holes and broken zippers. Turn it inside out and brush out all the sand and glitter. Remove any items that are still in the backpack from last year (ahem…I have no idea what you’re talking about!).
Check and clean lunchboxes and food containers. Make sure you still have all of your cooler packs (those really like to wander off in my household). Don’t forget to find all of the water bottles as well and make sure they still have all of the required parts.
If your kids are old enough to use electronics in the classroom, like a tablet, calculator or computer, make sure that you can find them. Confirm that the electronics are in good working order and that they have fresh batteries if required. Make sure you can find the charging cable if you need one.
Check Clothes and Shoes
In our part of the country, the weather doesn’t start getting cooler until a few months after the kids are back in school. I put off the fall clothing swap until the temperature starts dropping. Even so, back to school is a good time to go through your kid’s wardrobe. Make sure anything that’s damaged or stained is put away. See if the kids need to fill any holes in their wardrobe.
Check your kids’ shoes as well. Make sure they still fit and that the laces aren’t damaged. If your kids spend the summer in flip flops, you might be surprised when they put on their athletic shoes! This is also a good chance to decide whether the kids need new socks or underwear (mostly so you can do laundry less often).
Create Reminder Tags
If your child is constantly forgetting things at school, consider making backpack reminder tags. This is REALLY simple to do. You just need a metal circular shower ring, some plain acrylic keychain disks, a permanent marker and your phone. For strong readers, write an item they need to remember on a disk. For example, you might write Water Bottle on one disk and Lunchbox on another disk. If your child is younger, you can draw a picture of the item as well as write the name of the item on the disk. This will definitely help your kids keep track of their stuff.
Label New Items
Make sure to label any new gear or clothes you bought for your child. If the reminder tags don’t do their job, you’ll need a way to identify your kid’s stuff in the lost and found. Since permanent marker washes off over time, I like to use sticky labels. We’ve been using the Inchbug Circular labels for years and those things are tenacious. They stay on through laundry, dishwasher and general kid abuse. If I had to do it over again I’d get just our last name printed on the labels to reduce sibling hand-me-down confusion! Live and learn.
Nail Down Before- and After-School Care
Don’t be like me and forget to sign up for after care until the week school starts. Our after-care program has a ton of spots, but many other places have limited before-school and after-school care availability. Don’t procrastinate on this one! If you’re new to this and not sure where to start, the local YMCA may have a program either at their facility or at your child’s school. Many daycares will offer before-school and after-school care and will transport kids from the school to the daycare facility. This is an especially great option of you have a younger child still in daycare. (One pickup is pretty amazing.)
Other options to consider are local gyms and martial arts studios. If none of these options work for you, you could also consider hiring a part-time nanny to provide before-school or after-school care at home. This has some great advantages – you don’t have to take your child anywhere, which could definitely make for a smoother start to your workday!
Check the Bus Route
If your child is a bus rider, be sure to check with their school and school district for any changes to routes or pickup times. You definitely don’t want to miss the bus on the first day because you were at the wrong corner or were there 10 minutes too late!
Print a Copy of the Calendar
If you still have last year’s calendar hanging on your wall, take that thing down. Print out the new school year’s calendar and hang it up where you can see it! This is a great reference to have in front of you when you’re planning vacations, or scheduling events.
Plan Ahead
Early release days, teacher workdays and minor holidays can sneak up on you. Instead of dealing with these as they come (not a good policy, trust me), take a few minutes up front to put them on your calendar. Check your care coverage for each early release day or holiday. For example, our after-care program covers early release days (ah-mazing) but not holidays or teacher workdays.
If you’ll need to find alternate care for that day or take a vacation day yourself, put a reminder on the calendar invite for 2-4 weeks out from the day off. That will be your reminder to find a babysitter or camp. I’ve missed teacher workdays until the day before and ended up scrambling at the last minute – not a good feeling!! Don’t be me.
Refine your Routines
Are your morning and evening routines working for you? If you constantly feel frazzled in the morning, take some simple steps to streamline your before-school routine. When the evening routine is more overwhelming than it is relaxing, consider tweaking your evening routine going into the new school year! A few small changes can really make a big difference in how you feel about your evenings. Valerie, a nurse and mom of four who writes at Overwhelmed Mama, recommends printing out your kids’ (and adults’) morning routines and putting them in a visible place to help everyone stay on track!
If you want more help with either the morning or evening routine, just send me your email address via the box at the bottom of this post. You’ll get two free workbooks to improve your evening and morning routines!
Give Extra Reassurance
Remember that kids can get anxious at the start of a new school year. New teachers, new room, new classmates. This is scary stuff for anyone! If you have a sensitive child, remember that they might be a bit clingy for a while before and after the first day of school. Try to be sensitive to their feelings and provide all of the love and reassurance you can. Some children might be anxious about all of the new faces they’ll see at school. Karen of Lightly Frayed recommends helping your kid create a practical plan to help break through the initial awkwardness.
Bring it on, School
With some planning and some compassion, you and your child will be off to a great start to the school year! Before you know it, the new routine will seem like old hat and your kiddo will be growing my leaps and bounds. Here’s to another fantastic school year.
