August can be one of the most stressful times of the year. If you’ve got kids of your own, you certainly don’t need us to tell you that! It’s no secret that back to school is hard on kids and parents alike. The mix-up in daily routines, additional responsibilities, and extra traffic can be enough to drive you nuts!
Whether your kids have gone back to school already or whether their return is imminent, hopefully we can help! We’ve compiled a few of our favorite tips for back to school, and just maybe, these ideas will help keep your sanity intact this school year!
Bring Order to Chaos with These Tips for Back to School
Woodstock Furniture & Mattress Outlet may specializing in home furnishings, but as a local business, we are a part of the Metro Atlanta and North Georgia communities. We are your friends, your family, and your neighbors. As a result, we care about what you care about. On days like today, that means discussing things other than quality furnishings at our everyday best price. Without further ado, we give you Woodstock Furniture & Mattress Outlet’s top back to school tips!
Tips for Establishing Schedules, Calendars, and Routines
The human brain is the most susceptible to new ideas, routines and habits during times of great change. This makes the start of a new school year the perfect time to get your family’s schedule back on track!
Do you have a family master calendar to keep track of everyone’s daily, weekly, and monthly activities? Perhaps you should! Additionally, make sure your kids have calendars or planners of their own. We love weekly calendars of the dry-erase variety. In fact, we encourage parents to have a weekly meeting with their kiddos to let them plan for the upcoming week. This will help them develop a sense of discipline, learn to prioritize, and to take ownership of their own schedule. Instilling these values into your kids is every bit as important as the book learning they receive in the classroom!
While it’s great for the kids to learn to plan for themselves, as parents we still need to provide the framework. Make sure to build in time for both work and play, while also setting blocks of time for solid daily routines. Daily items like “family time”, “homework time”, bedtime and wake-up time should be set in stone during the school week. For you, this might mean setting a regular alarm to signal the start of “homework time”, or setting an alarm as a 30 minute warning before bed. This plan looks different for every household, but find one that works for your family and go with it!
Being Proactive: Preparation not Procrastination
Our second group of tips for back to school revolves around the importance of being proactive. Procrastination is unfortunately the default setting for most of us. That’s why we have to make a concerted effort to fight it! The key is to prepare long before things get out of hand.
Learning to do things the night before is a great way to cut some of that back to school stress. Packing tomorrow’s lunch before bed is a great start. But don’t stop there! Have your kids set out their clothes and pack their backpacks/gym bags the night before as well! For even more of a boost the next morning, set your clocks 10 minutes fast to combat tardiness. These are some of the easiest tips to integrate into your busy life.
As parents, we should also plan ahead for the inevitable distractions that come along. And technology just might be the biggest distraction in existence. Prepare for the school year and all that homework by revising your rules for “screen time”. Also, it’s important for your kids to have certain areas to do different tasks – like a dedicated space for homework. Whether they have their own desk or just a regular spot at the dining room table, this homework station will help them focus when it’s time to study.
Additionally, make sure to minimize distractions like tablets, TVs or video games in these study areas as well. This same principle holds true when it comes to kids’ bedrooms. To help them keep on schedule, it’s important to remove tablets or other mobile devices from the bedroom that can distract and keep them awake after bedtime.
WFMO is North Georgia’s Hometown Furniture Superstore (and Giver of Back to School Tips)
We hope you enjoyed reading a few of our favorite tips for back to school! Which do you think will be most helpful for you and yours?
This post was partially inspired by an exhaustive list of 101 back to school tips over at Care.com. Not every tip will resonate with you as there are no one-size-fits-all solutions for families. However, you might just find inspiration from one or two things you hadn't considered before. Make sure you and your kiddos are ready for this school year by reading their full list of tips here.
