7 Best Back To School Organization Tips
After a summer free from schedules, the thought of going back to school can be the cruelest slap in the face. For parents, it’s trying to adjust to a more structured schedule and routine to include lunch packing, drop offs, pick ups, homework and more. To help your family get and stay organized, I have gathered 7 Best Back to School Organization Tips that have helped our family start the year off right.
1. Post a family calendar that tracks all upcoming dates for the house.
With a family calendar, upcoming dates are less likely to be overlooked. We like to sit down at the end of each month and look at the next month with all the designated dates for all events. Some events are ongoing like the kids extra curricular activities but at the beginning of each school year, things get super hectic with back to school nights, open houses and orientations. Having these important dates marked down on the family calendar helps us to keep up with everyone’s plans so we can support one another when something comes up.
2. Create organization areas for when the kids come home.
Organizing homework can be challenging after a busy day at school. When your kids get home from school, get them in the habit of following an afternoon routine. I created the daily checklist at the end of this post for my house and it has been a great way to get the kids organized. The checklist is a good reference to remind them of what they need to do if they forget something. You can download a free copy of the checklist below. Life hack… Print the checklist on cardstock and laminate it so it can be reused each week.
3. Establish after school routines.
What I have noticed after working with children for over 20 years, they thrive in environments that have routines that are predictable and familiar to them. A consistent daily schedule with step by step routines helps encourages a predictable day for children. Schedules and routines help children feel in control and have a sense of ease in their day. Choose a central location like the kitchen table when the kids are doing their homework. When they are at the table, there is enough space for everyone to sit and work alongside each other. While they are working on homework, you will be able to take care of dinner and any light cleaning while providing them with help if they have any questions. Keep an organizer filled with school supplies like pencils, crayons, colored pencils, markers, scissors and glue sticks that they may need to complete any homework or class projects throughout the year.
4. Create an inbox basket for children to place class newsletters, permission slips and other correspondence.
Have you ever heard the phrase, a place for everything and everything in its place? This phrase basically means, the best way to stay organized is to keep everything in their designated place. Having a set place for the kids to place their planner to be signed, permission slips and any other important papers from school helps keep papers organized and avoids everyone from looking around for those important papers.
5. Start going to bed and getting up earlier a few days to weeks in advance.
Help your child get back to school ready by starting new bedtime routines a week or two before school starts to help them transition to getting up early in the morning. Getting enough sleep each night is vital for your child’s academic performance. A lack of sleep has been linked to lower academic performance as well as an increase in tardiness and absenteeism. (See https://www.sleepfoundation.org/children-and-sleep/how-much-sleep-do-kids-need).
6. Plan your meals out each week.
Planning meals takes the guesswork out of what is for dinner. On Friday evenings, I like to sit down and map out the meals for the following week. You may ask why Friday? I like to go to the store on a Saturday morning when it first opens so I am not running into people down the aisles and I am able to get the first pick of the day. I look in the cabinets prior to heading to the store to see what I already have and build my meal plan off of that. To make things a little easier, I plan themed meals based on the day. Click here to check out A Home to Make’s Ultimate List of Themed Dinner Nights which has 25 different themed dinner night ideas such as Meatless Mondays, Taco Tuesdays and Whatever Wednesdays.
I hope you were able to find at least one tip to implement into your back to school routine this school year. Maybe you have a tip that is not listed. Share it in the comments below, I would love to hear from you. Also, don’t forget to download a copy of the Daily Checklist below to help your family get and stay organized throughout the school year.
