As back-to-school season looms, it’s time to start thinking about whipping your home into shape for another 10 months of rushed mornings, afternoons of carpooling, and homework-filled evenings. Just as teachers prep their classrooms, parents can inspire success with these 13 tweaks to the home-front routine.
- Meeting of the minds. Change comes easier when everyone is involved in the process. So lure your kids with a special breakfast to a family meeting to discuss prepping for the new school year. Older children can be an invaluable resource, especially when it’s time to transition from one phase to another. Incorporate their ideas whenever feasible.
- Menu check. After your consult with the kids, browse your cookbooks or the internet for kid-friendly, nutrition-packed breakfasts and quick-and-easy lunches that your kids will actually eat. Bonus points for breakfasts that are easily transportable and lunches that the kids can prepare and pack themselves. Stock your pantry and fridge accordingly.
- Kid-friendly kitchen. Make it easy for your kids to pack their own school lunches. Set aside a section of the refrigerator for lunch-time foods and reserve a cabinet for the kids’ lunch boxes and food containers so everything they need is easy to see and ready to grab and go. On the inside of the cabinet, post a reminder note listing what they need to pack. With the right prep, even children as young as kindergarten can be self-sufficient.
- Closet cleanup. Set aside a day to go through the kids’ clothing to weed out what’s too small or too worn for the new school year. Though time-consuming, you’ll reap double rewards. The closets and drawers will be easier for your kids to find what they need. And, you’ll be less inclined to overspend or purchase the wrong items when you hit the back-to-school sales. Extra credit given for doing this task early enough to allow time for shopping yard sales, thrift stores or sourcing hand-me-downs from friends and family.
- More than a pretty face. Anyone in your brood need a haircut? If so, set aside the time for back-to-school trims. Don’t forget to check your bathrooms for basic health and beauty supplies. Stock the bathroom with toothbrushes and toothpaste, toilet paper and other basic hygiene products. Nothing like an empty roll of TP to derail the morning routine!
- Inventory school supplies. Enlist the kids help and turn this one into a scavenger hunt. Gather up all the rulers, calculators, pens, pencils, scissors, index cards and other supplies lying around the house. No need to purchase new what you already have.
- Study space. Give some thought to where your children will do their homework. The kitchen island might work best for little ones who still need a lots of parent help. If so, stock a rolling cart with necessary school supplies. For older kids, it might be time to set up a study space. A desk, a comfortable chair and a good source of light are essentials. Will you need to set up a wireless network to accommodate the new space? What about a printer? Don’t forget to put a trashcan nearby.
- It’s all in the details. Using a three-ring binder, create a family notebook that contains important information from your kids’ schools, along with scout, sport and religious organizations. Schedules, project reminders, supply lists, phone numbers, addresses, and other vital information will be easier to access in a single book. Bonus points given for including the menus and phone numbers of nearby restaurants. No harm done surrendering to takeout on occasion.
- Day by day. Create a master family calendar and post it in a central location such as the front hall or kitchen. That way, everyone knows when mom is traveling, big brother has a football game and little brother needs a ride to piano practice.
- Create a “landing zone.” The mudroom, a back hallway or a corner of the kitchen are all potential spots to create a “landing zone,” where backpacks, jackets and shoes are corralled after school and on weekends. When Monday morning rolls around, everything’s in place.
- Paper chaos. Before the avalanche of paperwork begins, have a system in place to tame it. Train the kids to put papers that need to be signed and returned in a designated spot, ideally a box or basket in the designated “landing zone.” Add a second basket for a pen, spare lunch money, a stapler, a scissors — along with anything else a parent on the run might need when running out the door.
- It’s show time. Designate a space in your home to display your children’s artwork and special papers. It might be the fridge, a wall in the family room or even a wall in your garage. Let your kids take charge of rotating their work.
- Practice makes perfect. The week before school begins, do a few dry runs of evening and morning routines to see what works and what doesn’t. Adjust bedtimes and wake-up times, if necessary. Should clothing be selected the night before? Is the pantry stocked for lunch-making? Better to find out now than let it mar that special first day.
