When we were little the first day of school was a BIG deal in our house! I LOVED school and was always very excited to start the new year.
Here are some tips to help keep things organized and flowing smoothly for your family during the school year.
:: Designate a spot in the house for all school related things (bags, homework, notes, etc) . I picked a spot near the door and hung up some Command strip hooks for jackets and backpack, shoes, hats, etc. I also had a small basket I kept for storing artwork, notes, news, etc and would toss these items in when we got home and go through it later!
:: Implement a strict rule that bags must be emptied as soon as possible after arriving home. If they sit full of stuff, most likely things will be forgotten.
:: Schedule times to review homework, read notes, prepare for the next day…even if it’s only in your head. The kids will start to follow the routine with you.
:: Use baskets or other containers for your children to keep their books, papers, folders, etc in. Once they are older, this is more necessary. A crate or basket in their room or in a family area might keep things from ending up all over the house. They can move it from room to room as necessary and when they have a project that takes more than one night to complete, they know exactly where it will be.
:: Invest in a good family planning calendar! There are several varieties to choose from so finding one won’t be hard, it’s finding the “right” one for your family that poses a challenge! Most have multiple columns for planning activities for 4-6 family members. The calendar needs to be in a spot viewable to everyone and have plenty of space for everyone’s activities. The hard part about the calendar is remembering to fill it in! I’ve listed some options below:
:: For smaller children with after-school activities, laminate a 3×5 index card with a reminder for the teacher, “Joey has science club on Wednesday” and attach it to their backpack each week! This way the child doesn’t have to remember to keep track of a note in their bag and you don’t have to write it over and over each week…just keep it with your basket of school notes or near the calendar and clip it on each week!
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