Congratulations, you’ve made it! Chances are your kiddos are headed back to school this week or next, if they aren’t there already. And that means it’s time to get them back into their school-year routine to try to keep everything running as smoothly as possible.
After two and a half months of non-stop fun, sleeping in late, trips to the beach or waterpark, it’s time to rein it all back in. As a parent, you’re probably counting down the minutes until the first bell rings but, for some kids, this is the worst part of the year. Going to bed early and waking up early might be met with resistance, and getting back into the homework groove might be a constant struggle. Here are some suggestions from “experts” to help make this transition back to school an easier one:
Make Adjustments To Habits
One of the first things that happens when summer vacation kicks off is that healthy habits for all family members may be abandoned. Whether it’s eating dinner as a family every night, hitting the gym after work, or having the kids devote time to learning a new skill (Spanish lessons via an iPad app or tennis lessons at the local community center), during the summer all of these things may take a backseat to other activities.
Think of the start of the school year as a do-over for your New Year’s Resolutions. Use this time to get back into the gym, making time for a family dinner (even if it’s just a quick 15 minutes before everyone is rushing off to their activities or homework), or getting the kids (or yourself?) to sit down and hone that skill. In other words, establish routines for your students that are manageable, sensible and allow some “chill time.”
Re-set The Sleep Schedule
After a summer of sleeping in and maybe even having an extended bedtime getting back on track with a sleep schedule can be a nightmare (no pun intended… okay, yes it was). Start trying to get things back to normal a few days or a week in advance with earlier bedtimes and alarms set for wake-up time. It’s also important to try to make the bed strictly for sleeping – if kids (or adults!) are lying awake in bed reading, playing on iPads, or watching TV it causes their brains to disassociate their beds from sleeping.
Get Into Homework Mode
Okay, we aren’t saying that you should be assigning your kids math problems as the summer winds down, but perhaps encourage them to read a few chapters in a new book, or do a couple of Sudoku puzzles at a certain time every night. This will get them into the habit of doing some brain-power activities at a specific time, which will make the transition into doing homework at that time even easier.
And of course, one of the best ways to back-to-school time running smoothly is to encourage your school and parent groups to use Pay4SchoolStuff.com! By using Pay4SchoolStuff you can take care of paying for all sorts of activities and items related to your child’s education and extracurricular activities. Some schools are even using Pay4SchoolStuff for their school lunch programs. This makes everything for you, the responsible adult, a breeze – you can pay for everything quickly, conveniently, and securely right online.
Do you have other tips for making the back to school transition a breeze? Let us know in the comments or on Facebook!
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