Keep Cool Mom- 5 Tips to Survive Back to School for Busy Moms
Wow, what a crazy week it has been getting the kids ready for school! Work, Hair-cuts, school clothes, school supplies, meet the teacher night, paperwork, and shopping for the right kind of groceries for their lunches! This week has been hectic with more to come as we roll right along into the upcoming school year! There were times I felt like I was going to lose my mind but I kept my cool.
Busy Moms can survive back to school with these tips!
Don’t try to cram everything into one week!
You still have your normal activities, job, other kids, housework and everything else you do that makes you crazy to do. You can’t possibility do everything you need to do to prepare for back to school all in one week/day. Pace yourself! We started a couple of weeks before school and conquered one task every couple of days!
Plan before you purchase
This is a big one! We spent a lot of time going through the kids closets, shoes, supplies, etc to see exactly what they needed. Don’t just go to the store without a plan as you will end up spending way more money then you intended. One of my daughters needed a couple more pair of shoes then the other. My oldest needed things the youngest didn’t. After I figured out what I needed, I wrote it all down. Since you now know what you need, you can go online to Groupon or whatever site you like and see what coupons and sales are being offered. You can truly save big if you do a little planning and preparation before you go out!
Start Preparing for the first day of school
Your kids might not like this one too much but don’t wait until the first day of school to get up early. Explain to them what you are doing and why, you can even make it a fun game for the younger ones. Start again about a week before school starts and do several trial runs. Start putting the kids down to bed at their new bedtimes, get them up at the time they would if they had school that day, eat a healthy breakfast, set out clothes and shower them the night before. Do everything you would do if school had really started. This way you can see what works for your family and what needs some fine tuning. There is no reason why back to school has to be chaotic. It just takes a bit of planning ahead of time and structure.
Enlist everyone’s help
Now that the kids will have somewhere to be everyday at a certain time it is time to make sure you have some help! Get that chore chart out and revise it. What could the kids be doing more of to help you out and make things run smoother in your household? Perhaps you have to be at work in the morning early as well and don’t have time to make lunches. Older kids can make their lunches the night before to help out, empty the dishwasher, fold towels and sweep floors. There are plenty of age appropriate chores that everyone can do to help out! Hubby around? He can help out with dinner/baths a few nights a week while you help the kids out with homework. Like the crock pot? Now is the time to get it out, since it is super easy and produces great home-cooked meals! The point is, everyone needs to be involved.
Set a positive tone for the upcoming school year
I feel this is so very important. Will life get crazy? Oh yes it will! If you have multiple children they will soon be going in 5 different directions all the time but as a parent one of the most important jobs you have is to set structure and a positive tone for your kids towards life so the same applies for the upcoming school year! Start a few weeks before school is set to start and talk to you kids about their goals, needs and fears about the upcoming school year. Be positive even if you aren’t! You want them to develop a love for learning and they look to you and value your thoughts! Have conversations with them about the importance of a structured routine and how it benefits them.
You are character building, Mom, even if it doesn’t feel like it one day at a time. Kids strive for structure and routine which in turn helps them develop responsible decision-making skills. When its all said and done, you will survive! You will figure out your routine and what works best for your family! It might take some rearranging and re-do’s but it will happen (hopefully by Christmas break!) : )
Do you have any great back to school tips for us? Please let us know in the comments below!
Blessings!
Need more help? Check out tips for going back to school HERE!
Those are great tips for getting them started. We did most of them. Thank you for reinforcement of what to do.
I love that you include setting a positive tone for the upcoming school year! This I think is so important for a successful school year!
Great tips! I especially love the positive tone. I think that can go a long way!
Ive started getting the kids up early this week … I think its harder on me than it is for them.
I love that you mentioned setting a positive tone for the upcoming school year! I was a teacher for a long time, and it was obvious to me when a child had negative feelings about the school year that they had gotten from their parents. It really took a lot to help them overcome their negative outlook!
I think your rule of, “don’t try to cram everything into one week” truly is key. When I try to do that I am a crazy woman and my kids aren’t too happy either 🙂