The countdown for back to school is officially ON! I can’t believe I am writing this blog post so soon! It can’t be back to school time already! It feels like this summer has been the quickest one yet! I had so many things on my summer to-do list. Including sorting four years of photos into photo albums and you guessed it. That hasn’t happened yet!
Whether you are counting down the seconds until back to school or holding onto the last few days of summer for dear life, it’s important to get your child and yourself back to school ready. No more lazy mornings with just one more cup of tea on the sofa. Getting prepared now can save you time, and stress and will leave you pulling up for the school drop-offs cool, calm and collected. With this blog post, I am going to give you some tips and ideas on how to prepare your child and yourself for going back to school.
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Why should you prepare your child for going back to school?
Just like packing for a holiday or preparing to move house, going back to school after several weeks off is a huge transition for some students and parents too! Although it’s something that happens every year, it’s easy to just ditch the preparation and hope for the best whenever that first day of school rolls back around. Can you remember that first day of school after summer? I remember how tough it was to get out of bed, eat my bowl of cereal like a zombie and then have to remember how to do up my tie in the middle of it all.
Preparing for the transition from summer mode to school mode is not a huge task. But it can help make a difference in how your child feels on that first day of school. Getting your child into a back to school routine before school starts can help reduce feelings of anxiety or worry about going back to the classroom. It can also help you all as a family, get back into routine, get organised and feel positive about the new school year.
6 steps for preparing your child for back to school
Preparing for back to school is more than just buying a new pencil case, fancy erasable pens and back to school bags. Although that part is super fun and important too! Transitioning from summer mode to school mode can be more of a big deal for some students than others. No matter how your child feels about going back to school. Whether they are a big ball of nerves about going into their new classroom. Or maybe they won’t even bat an eyelid. Preparation for this transition is key to stopping stress and overwhelm kicking in for your whole family. With that said, here are 6 steps for preparing your child for back to school.
Get back into a sleep routine
Do you remember that point during the summer holidays when your parents used to make you go to bed early to get you prepared for waking up early for school? That used to drive me insane! I went from sitting up late, watching late-night episodes of The Simpsons and Fear Factor (do you remember that show!) to going to bed at 9 pm! Well, looking back my parents were wise and this is an excellent way to start back to school preparation.
During the summer holidays, everyone’s sleep is disrupted. With different trips planned, summer schemes or just sitting up late watching movies and TV shows. When that alarm goes off for the first day of school, it can be a struggle to get moving. So I am going to give the advice that I hated when I was growing up. Get into a good sleep routine a few weeks before school is scheduled to start back.
At least the week before school starts back, start getting your child into their normal sleep routine. It doesn’t have to be straight back to their school bedtime, but each night get your child to go to bed 10/15 minutes earlier than they have been during the summer. Even if they aren’t tired, tell them to read a book until they feel sleepy. This will help your child prepare for their normal bedtime during school and help them get a more restful night’s sleep before school starts. Rather than tossing and turning because they are used to staying up late.
Become a morning person again
Does anyone else feel like a superhero when they get up early and by 9 am they’ve done a workout, got the shopping, cooked breakfast and got the washing on? You’re either a morning person or you aren’t. But you can train and prepare yourself to become one. I could easily sleep late every single day. But I have trained myself to be a morning person, well most of the time. Do you know how I became a morning person? I had to leave my phone on the other side of the room so when the alarm went off I had to get out of bed to turn it off! And do you know what? It worked! However this summer, I have slipped into lazy mode again. I did get up when my alarm went off so I could write this blog post!
Just like getting into a sleep routine, getting into a morning routine is just as important. As well as going to bed 10/15 minutes earlier each night, I recommend getting up a few minutes earlier each morning to prepare for back to school. This should mean that when the alarm clock goes off for that first day of school, it shouldn’t be as traumatising for your child to wake up early. But I’m sure there will be some sleepy heads out there who just can’t get out of bed! My tip for the sleepy heads? Do what I did and put the alarm on the other side of the room!
Make a list and check it twice
You are probably a seasoned pro at getting all the back to school stationery and back to school clothes and uniforms in. If you are, you can scroll past this step. But if you are one of those people who are running around the night before school starts looking for white short-sleeved shirts, this one’s for you. Summer is a time for growth, everything in nature grows and blossoms and that includes your child! I bet they had a major growth spurt this summer. This could mean those jumper cuffs are halfway up their arms!
A few weeks before school starts, have your child try on any uniform they have. Jot down a note of what needs to be replaced and what sizes they need. Next, sit down with your child and make a back to school supplies list of any stationery that they need for this new school year. Making a list with them will subconsciously prepare them for the transition back to school. They will be talking about what their new teacher asked them to bring for the new school year and hopefully get them feeling positive about the new term ahead. Plus you can make a day of it and go on a back to school shopping trip together!
Get planning
Packing my lunch for school even as a teacher is something that I used to dread. I used to hope for leftovers so I could just fire them into a lunch box. Believe it or not, one of my favourite things about having my own business is not having to pack my lunches! However, this next tip for preparing for back to school is something that I do every week, well most of the time. And that’s planning lunches that you can use on repeat.
I firmly believe in working smarter, not harder. So I recommend choosing five lunch items, one for each day of the week, and using them on repeat! This means you know what you need to buy for the week’s lunches and you know what to prepare each Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and so on. You can also involve your child in the planning of a back to school list for lunches. Especially if they are a fussy eater! Asking your child for their input during this planning means they are less likely to complain that they don’t like ham, cheese or apricot yoghurt. If you want to be super prepared, you can do this for dinner time as well.
Talk about your child’s new teacher
Usually before school finishes for the summer holidays, your child will meet their new teacher or teachers for the following school year. To help prepare your child for this transition, I recommend talking about their new teacher and their new classroom. Having casual conversations about changing teachers and classrooms can help reduce any feelings of worry about this process. I used to love meeting my new teacher and getting a new homework diary and a new desk. But for some students, this can cause anxiety and feelings of stress.
If this is something that your child struggles with, contact your child’s school and ask if they can send you a photo of your child’s new teacher, their classroom and their new desk. This can help with transitioning and preparing your child for this new start. If your child’s school isn’t comfortable with sending a photo of the teacher, you can still ask for a photo of your child’s new classroom and desk.
Get some revision in
If your child is sitting the transfer test this November, I highly recommend using these last few weeks of summer break to get those transfer test revision packs finished. Chances are your child’s teacher will hit the ground running the first week back at school. That means back to homework and practice papers. So doing some preparation and getting those brains switched back on is essential during the last few weeks of summer.
If your child isn’t sitting the transfer test, you can get their brains warmed up for back to school by doing some extra reading and practising spelling and the times tables and division facts. With reading, have your child read a couple of chapters in the morning and at bedtime. You can go through some of your child’s spellings from the past school year and see how many they can remember. With the times tables and division facts, you can ask your child to recall a few times tables each day. This can be in the morning as you get ready or in the car driving to the park.
More information on preparing for back to school
Back-to-School Tips for Families
7 Tips to Prepare for the First Days of School
The only back-to-school checklist you’ll need in the UK
Back to School Prep: 6 Organization Tips for Parents
Getting organised and prepared for back to school now can make these last few days and weeks of summer fun and stress-free. Those dark nights and mornings will soon be upon us. So don’t forget to go on that day trip you haven’t got around to taking yet. Go to the beach, and the park, have fun and enjoy this time together with your family before reality hits again. You’ll soon be back in routine and wishing for this precious time with your family. I hope these tips help you and your child glide through the school gates this new school year like an elegant ballerina. Rather than stumbling to the school gates like an elephant on roller skates! I hope you enjoy the last few days of the summer holidays and have a super organised and prepared back to school!
