Goodbye Summer, Hello School!

Tips for making the back-to-school transition easier

     Blink. Where did summer go? Just when my kids figured out how to play upstairs by themselves for longer than 10 minutes it’s now time for them to get back on a schedule where play time has to be penciled in around hours of homework.

     Changing routines can be difficult. Add to that multiple children of multiple ages and you can brew up a recipe for stress.

     There exists no one-size-fits-all advice when it comes to transitioning your kids from summer to fall. But I have enough summers under my belt to know what works and doesn’t work, so from one mother to another, let me share what I’ve gleaned from my experiences:

Get a calendar

     Actually, buy a few. Buy one to put on the fridge for the whole family to see, a cute one just for you, one for each of your kid’s rooms, and one more just because.

     Start with the family calendar and map out the month September and be intentional about writing down every single event in that month. When your kids know the plan, everyone wins.

     Have fun with this and buy some cute stickers to stick on special days – this is a great way to include your kids and get them excited about going back to school. Let your kids decorate their own calendars by marking special days with crayons or markers.

Talk about the new school year

     Ask your kids if they have questions about the grade they are entering. What are they most excited about? What are they scared about? Talk with them about what it was like for you when you started a new grade.

Ease school jitters by role playing

     Sometimes when I need my son to work through a situation where he might get overwhelmed, we walk through different scenarios, assuming roles as we discuss what could happen and focus on positive outcomes.

Make the first day of school special

     If you have multiple children, take each one out individually and plan on getting at least one new outfit to get them excited about their first day. 

     Be sure to add this shopping day to your calendar ...

Plan for an earlier bedtime

     Now that you’ve gotten the schedule, role playing, and shopping day nailed down, the hard part is actually getting your children to understand that staying up late is a thing of the past and bedtimes are back in full swing.

     There a few simple things you can do to help with this transition. Some parents put their kids to bed 15 minutes earlier each night the week before school starts. For others, their kids catch on to this and fight tooth and nail to stay up.

     To avoid the fight, try this: tell your child he can stay up until the time you have decided and tell him he can read in his bedroom up until that time. Perhaps set a timer, but give him that feeling of independence, that he is the one who is in charge of when he closes his eyes (however, the reality is, your child is in his bed at the time you wanted him to be). He will eventually learn the new routine and setting the timer will be replaced with him falling asleep on his own.

Keep things simple

     This means not scheduling a million things all in one day for your child. Pick one extracurricular activity and let your daughter have lots of free time before bedtime.

     It’s okay to have blank space on your calendar. (Maybe sign her up for soccer but save dance for next season.) A busy schedule isn’t always better. Keeping things simple and low key for your kids can be exactly what they need to start the new school year off right.

     Try these tips to help you and your family ease into a new schedule this fall and you will be pleasantly surprised at how well your kids will adjust. Tweak these suggestions to fit your family’s needs and remember, keep it simple.

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