It’s time to say goodbye to summer and get kids back into the school mindset! I know it’s not easy, but we’re sharing our top five favorite parenting tips to help you do it!
Summer is coming to an end quickly and your kids have had the time of their lives during their vacation. Now it’s time to get them back into the back to school mindset, but how? We’ve come up with a few good ideas to help you with their transition from summer play to school work. Here are five ways to get your kids back into the school mindset that can be painless and dare we say it, fun!
How to Get Kids Back into the School Mindset
Sleep Schedule Changes
All summer long you and your kids have gotten away with getting out of bed whenever, unless you work of course, but with school approaching those late nights have to come to an end. A great idea is that the month before school starts, cut the bed time limit down by a half hour limit a night. Obviously this will vary depending on your child’s age and your house rules, but it’s a good place to start.
Once the week before school comes, start resetting those dreaded alarm clocks and have your child adhere to getting up at the alarm times, instead of sleeping in. this should help the transition from staying up late to getting up earlier go a little smoother.
Gathering of the School Supplies
To some people this could be a new title for a horror novel, but school supply gathering can be painless and, here’s that word again, fun! After all, not many children would refuse a new backpack and some really cool notebooks, pencils, folders, ink pens, planners and so much more. With this in mind, be sure to allow them to go to the store or online with you to pick and choose what they want, it can help them to get a little more excited about the new school year. It’s also a good idea to give them a budget that they have to stick with when choosing their new supplies because there are other things that will need to be purchased before school begins.
New School Clothes
Chances are there aren’t too many children in the world that won’t get excited by getting new school clothes. Looking good when going to school is one of the biggest things they’ll look forward to. New clothes, new friends, new attitude! Going to school in last years jeans with holes in them is not what kids want, keep those for after school clothes to help keep the new ones looking good. Again, give them the chance to choose what they want, money permitting of course, and they will be more excited since they were involved in getting their new wardrobe. This is all a part of that budget we mentioned before. Be sure to stick with it, no matter how much you want your child to wear the most expensive items.
Lunch Packing
Even though schools do offer lunches, everyone knows that some kids do not like school food, or they have allergies that will not allow them to eat certain foods. Therefore, lunch packing is just as important as the rest of the items on this list. Younger children often ‘brown bag it’ in school as opposed to teenagers.
Shopping for lunch items such as snacks, juice boxes, fruit cups and more can be done easily at any store or online. When purchasing these items, make sure you let the kids know that these particular things are only for school lunches, not all day snacks. Depending on the size of your family and how many children will be packing their lunches, let them know their limits. A lot of kids will also enjoy the idea of packing their own lunch with the items you’ve purchased and with adult supervision, let them indulge themselves if they want. It helps you and helps them with being independent. Make lunch even more fun with our lunchbox printables!
Projects Not Homework
Sounds strange doesn’t it? Who wants to give their kids homework in the summertime? Not too many parents, but projects for them are a different story. What we mean is nearing the end of summer, find projects for your kids to work on. For example, maybe you want to set up a schoolwork only area of the house that will include items like calendars, bulletin boards, desks, chairs, paper, and so forth. Since it’s going to be their area to do homework at, let them design it to their liking. This way they can be comfortable when doing their homework, and not want to get up every five minutes because they don’t want to sit in that hard, wooden chair anymore and they’re bored. You know what we’re saying, give them the chance to ‘dress’ it up they way they want.
Another example could be organizing an area when backpacks, shoes, coats, and such are taken off when they get home from school. Have them set it up the way that is the most convenient for them. These projects and many others can be performed and it will help your children get back in the learning mode for when school begins.
There you have it, our five ways to get your child back into the school mindset. Naturally, these will vary with your child’s age, but these are a great place to start.
What do you do to get your kids back into the school mindset? Let us know in the comments.
I loved school and as much as I loved summer vacay, I couldnt wait for school to start back up… until I was about a junior. Then I was counting down the days. lol
I don’t have to do a single thing to get my child’s mindset ready for school. School is his favorite place in the world.
The sleep schedule is going to be a big change. Working on that will help so much. There’s so much preparation parents have to do!
My kids had a hard time getting back into the school mindset. The sleep routine was important.
My son always struggled with going back to school. The biggest issue for him was getting up earlier.
My son needs this blog post. He is slowly getting used to the idea of going back to school
Nice ideas to ease them back into school mode. I think the shopping is generally fun and getting the supplies will give them a big hint that things are going to change. Bedtime is also paramount.