It's August, which means that Back to School mentality is in full swing. Depending on where you live in the country, school might be starting in a matter of days. And regardless of where you live, it'll be here before you know it. My oldest is starting Kindergarten, so this is the year that I officially get to start to experience what Back to School is all about.
I guess now is a good time to stop ignoring that huge stack of papers that has been coming in the mail all summer. Oh, you mean I have to READ this stuff?
In some conversations with other local moms, the first things I realized that I needed to do was get my calendar in order. There's the first day of school, but also a new student orientation, and a practice bus ride, and a family picnic. Dates started swimming around in my head faster than I could keep track of them.
So out came the highlighter to make some sense of what kind of info was hidden within the stack of papers. Then the dates went onto the master calendar (at least through December). I'm feeling better already.
I'll be 100% honest, I don't really have a set system in place yet for how to handle all things school related, so this will be a year of trial and error, and I'll be sure to share with you what works and what doesn't work along the way.
Things to think about if you're late to the BTS party:
-Is your child registered? It's not too late to register if it has somehow slipped your mind, or you've recently moved, or need to switch schools for a child care related reason.
-Is your child's health info up to date? Our school requires a physical and a dental examination....but they usually give you a few months to get all of the paperwork in, so schedule those appointments now if you haven't already!
-Do you have a child care system in place for before school, after school, and random days off such as conferences, teacher in services and holidays? Check out your school's complete calendar to get a sense of how many days you will need to make arrangements for...in our school district, it's a ton!
Alright veteran moms, tips and tricks for keeping it all together as the school year approaches? Share here!
Make sure you empty the backpack every night after Laynie gets home and take care of anything that needs to be sent back to school. Many teachers will have a folder system for things that need to come back and things that can stay at home. Getting everything into the backpack the evening before, except snack and/or lunch, is helpful. Enjoy!!!
ReplyDeleteJoyce is right empty that bag first thing. I also hang all paper work on the fridge so I can see them first thing in the morning.Congratulations to the both of you it is such a big step for you both.
ReplyDeletethe amount of paper entering your home is about to double! so, yes, empty that bookbag every night! and you may want to do it in a very nonchalant, out-of-sight, kind of way, so that you can put most of it right in the recycling. in kindergarten, there will be many genuinely great memories made - stories written and illustrated, journals, special projects - but there will also be many worksheets, cutting projects, etc etc that do NOT need to be saved.
ReplyDeleteputting everything on the calendar as soon as you get is key, too. most school's put out their whole calendar by august, and i have everything on my google calendar through next June! things may change, but now i have a sense of when three day weekends are, half days, etc. each of my boys has their own color in google calendar now (and the same color on the giant weekly calendar we put on the fridge), where i track everything school and activity related.
whatever you can do the evening before, do. even if you are a household of morning folks, having a relaxed morning gets everyone off to the best possible start.
as they get older, shift responsibility for backpack management, lunches, etc to the kids.
and then, once homework starts, it's good to have a routine and expectations. I don't think it matters what the routine is, as long as it takes into account the needs and desires of your wee one - do they need a break right after school? a snack? is there a certain PBS show that they love and will do anything to watch each day? when do they mentally crash? - AND that it's consistent.
i have tons more to say :) i'm cutting myself off :)