10 Ways to Prepare for Back-to-School

It’s August and summer is coming to an end fast, which means back-to-school for kids. For some parents, the remaining time can’t go fast enough. For others, they are holding on to every last precious moment. In either case, here are some helpful ways to prepare for the inevitable first day of school.

1. Stay Informed-Follow the District/school social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram. Don’t forget about the District website! Reminders for meetings, upcoming events and the ever-so-dreaded weather announcements will be posted on these sites.
2. School Supplies-Yes. It is that time of year again. It’s time to stock up on boxes of Kleenex, crackers, pencils, crayons, notebooks and tablets. Find your list.

3. 

   Open Houses-Mark your calendars for open houses and goal setting conferences. This is a chance for you and your child to meet his/her teacher and establish a relationship. Your child will have the opportunity to get familiar with the school, find his/her locker and help relieve some of the first day of school stressors your child may have.

4. Lunches and Snacks-Will your children be eating school lunch? If so, don’t forget to put money into their account prior to the first day of school. If your child will be bringing his or her own lunch, take them shopping or plan out a week or month at a time. Hint: check out the new menu features and Nutrislice parent app.
5. Routine, Routine, Routine– Start putting your kids to bed at the time they need to be in bed on a school night. You can even get them up and ready for bus pick-up or drop-off. Pssst…Get yourself to bed early, too!
6. Read-We all fall off the wagon once or twice reading with our kids, especially over the summer. Now is the time to get back into the swing of reading with them daily. The recommended amount of time is 15 to 20 minutes a day. What was it again? Routine, routine, routine.
7. Get Excited-Yes! School is about to start again. Get excited about it! Talk to your kids about seeing their friends again, meeting their teacher or going to a new school. If you’re enthusiastic about school, it will rub off on them as well.
8. Doctor Appointments– Do you have immunizations done? How about the required sports physicals? Dentist appointment scheduled? Now is the time to get these necessary appointments scheduled.
9. Homework Area-Create a space at home for your child to do his or her homework that is quiet and comfortable. Keep the area well-lit and organized. Keep it stocked with the pens, pencils and highlighters they may need.
10. Library card-Does your child have a library card? Get it now! Encourage him or her to love reading. You can check out

    

    audio books as well. Make it a family event to go to the library together. Often times, libraries have other family fun events as well.

There are plenty of ways to prepare for back-to-school. Follow us on Pinterest to check out all of our education boards and parenting tips for other useful information.