Good news!!
We are about two weeks or less from school resumption. Most parents can’t wait, we are seriously counting down to first day of school. However, before you jump for joy, remember that back to school also means resuming your early morning duties of getting the kids ready for school, packing lunch and loads of homework. To prevent the last-minute hassles and stress, here are a few tips to start getting ready for back to school.
1. Introduce a Bedtime Routine and Waking Earlier
At the minimum, a week before school starts, get them back into an earlier bedtime routine and waking them at the time they will need to get up for school. This will reduce the argument on the first day of school and even the subsequent days.
2. Remember the early to bed, early to rise formula
The night before the first day of school let them go to bed very early. If normal bedtime is 8pm, let them sleep at 7.30pm.
3. School Messages
Time to check and read all the emails/messages from school that was earlier ignored. If you are anything like me, you should have your inbox loaded with unread messages. Take time to sort the mails and text message for the ones that have to do with your kid’s schools and take the information into account.
4. Prepare for School Supplies
One thing you don’t want to deal with is anxiety, I mean don’t let the back to school rush get you in a fluster. Start now to pick up on all school supplies – snacks, stationery, lunch bags, school bag etc.
5. Back to School Clothing
Go over your children’s clothing now. kids grow and increase in size just as they play also. So of course, you would most likely need to do a random check for tears and determine if the kids can still conveniently wear them and be comfortable in them. Either you would be buying a new one or patching things up, it’s good to tick that aspect off as soon as possible. Don’t forget trip to the barber/salon
6. Waking Up the Brain
Two weeks to school, start to introduce worksheets, reading and writing to help them prepare for school work. 9ijakids games can help wake up the brain and put them in the school mood quick. See www.9ijakids.com for games like Maths genius, magic words and mathsmania and the likes.
7. New Term Goals
Review their last term assessment reports/results to determine areas to work on with their class teacher and have a discussion with your child.
8. School Day Routine
Plan out school day routines. Time to wake, eat, go to school, do homework, house chores, play and go to bed.
9. Finalise Logistics
Don’t forget to check you have covered pickup and drop off arrangements, carpooling details, after school activities, etc
10. Always Have Extras of Everything
Most times, we don’t get to remember all the things we need for school supplies and if you miraculously ticked everything on your list, you’re still not safe. For every item that often get damaged or missing, you should consider buying extra. This will help you minimise worries in course of the year when you may likely need it, and it will also prevent some eleventh-hour rush when they have an event coming up the next day.
