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Back to School Tips - Part 2: Getting
Ready
Getting the Kids and Their Stuff Ready
"Make sure your routines are written out
on a piece of paper, listed in the exact order that they need to
be done." - FlyLady from "Sink Reflections"
- My daughter just started wearing glasses so I'm going
to purchase one of those inexpensive eyeglass repair kits that
come in the little plastic cylinder to give to her teacher at
the beginning of the year. That way, if she loses a screw or her
glasses need tightening during the school day, the teacher will
be able to fix it and she can keep "flying" through the day
without her glasses giving her a problem. I also make sure that
her backpack and lunch box are packed and ready by the door
(including any notes/papers that need to go to school) and that
her school clothes, shoes, and hair accessories are laid out
before she goes to bed. That way, all we have to do in the
morning is add the cold items to her lunch box and everything
else is ready to go. No running around frantically. A smooth
start to the morning makes for a smooth day. - Florida
- My children are now young adults, but we learned to
"BUY EARLY" I also work in a drug store and already the
back-to-school stuff is on sale. So, find the list(s) that your
kids dragged home at the end of the school yr and take care of
it now. You'll save money plus, the selection is the best right
now.If you procrastinate this, it'll cost you more and you'll be
left with the leftover stuff that no other kid wanted, the
"un-cool" stuff. hugs, a flybaby from the Pacific Northwest
- Before School Starts:
- If you have moved or your child is moving up to a new
school, call and find out when you can come in and tour the
school. Everyone will breathe easier if they know where they
are going the first day.
- Get the school supply list and buy doubles. Keep the
extras in a spot your kids can get to, so when they run out or
forgot something at school they need to do homework they have
it.
- Teach them the rule: when you take the last of something,
put it on the shopping list.
- If your kids have been sleeping in, start a week or two
before school begins to gradually start getting them up
earlier. Then the day before, do a "dress rehearsal" by
getting up at the planned time, getting ready as if going to
school, and drive or bike to school so that you know the
timing works.
- Every child who can write should have an assignment
notebook.All homework, projects, requests for special
supplies, etc. should be written in it and notes to go home
can be tucked into it.
During the school
year
- Have a designated home work spot, and a time to start (be
sure to give them a short break when they get home before they
have to start).
- If they are old enough to have more than 45 minutes of
homework a night, schedule 15 minutes breaks.
- Establish a routine of a parent checking the assignment
notebook and looking over homework each night.
- Teach the children to put away the materials from one
subject before moving on to the next.
- Have them put everything back into the backpack when they
are done.
- I’ve only been a FlyBaby for just over a week now,
but what a productive week! I’m still in the decluttering
stages, but a lot of the stuff I have to get rid of is paper
clutter. I’ve already started a very simple control journal so
that I’d have a place for papers I need to refer to rather than
discard. Since school starts here in just a couple weeks we are
already getting all kinds of notes, lists, etc. from the school.
I’ve made a section in my journal for my son’s school.
When we went shopping this weekend I knew exactly where to find
my son’s school supply list. No more rummaging through stacks of
papers, my car and my purse. By leaving the list in the folder
I’ll be able to restock items he needs later in the year. Thanks
to you all!
- Hi FlyCrew. Thanks for all you do. I get the whole
family back on School Schedule two weeks before it starts. That
means getting up , getting dressed and having breakfast on early
time even if we do not have any thing specific to do. It gets us
all going to bed earlier and getting organized in the am. Also,
we all start reading every day--something anything to get the
kids minds and eyes back in practice. These two things have made
school easier for the past five years.
- Hi, FLY-ladies: I am very much a flybaby, but here
are some things I do to try to ease the transition back to the
school routine:
- Two weeks before school starts, I get the kids back on
their school hours schedule (in terms of bedtime and having to
get up at the right time in the morning.) The first few days
usually include my teens either crashing early or taking a
nap. I allow it the first few days ONLY. After that, they get
up and stay up! :-)
- I try to communicate with their teachers before school
starts to find out exactly what their requirements will be,
then work with the kids to make sure everything is organized
the way the teachers want - and to try to anticipate any
problem areas. One of my daughters is ADD, so it's very
important that we have the organizational structure clearly
identified and in place before school.
- The last two weeks before school, the kids spend a couple
of hours each day reviewing for classes and perfecting their
"summer" assignments so they're ready to submit on the first
day of school. This year, one of the teachers is requiring one
assignment on the first day of school and another one week
later. Forget that! They're both ready to submit on the first
day!
- We always make lunches and lay out clothes the evening
before, but getting/keeping homework together, etc. remains a
hassle - especially those long-term assignments!!! I can't
wait to read your ideas for those headaches!
Thanks! Flybaby in TN
- Color code your kids. We have 5 children and
they each have a different color. I buy their folders, pencils,
pencil boxes, book covers, notebooks, etc in THEIR color if at
all possible. Then when I spy a purple folder I know it is my
oldest daughter's.
- I have two daughters in high school, sophomore and
senior this fall who are involved in several sports and extra
curricular activities like National Honor Society, Student
Council and Band. My daughters pre-school teacher, obviously BO,
started this and I have kept up with it through the years. Each
school year when we buy supplies I buy a pocket folder for each
of them and let them decorate it with their name. This folder
is kept on the kitchen counter right next to the family
calendar. (one of my hot spots, but getting better~!) When
they get home from school they put papers that I need to see,
fill out, sign and/or return on the right side of the folder. I
then check it as part of my before bed routine, record events on
the calendar and then put any papers they need to take back to
school on the left side of the pocket folder. They then check
their folders each morning as part of their morning routines.
Eliminates the last minute frantic seach for the field trip
permission slips that were supposed to be returned 3 days ago
and other missed communications. Even at the pinnacle of my
unorganization this small routine was a big help to me. Even 15
years ago I was trying to fly, I just didn't know it!
- My tip - I try to schedule as many extra-curricular
activities (dance, gymnastics, piano lessons, etc.) for the
same day of each week (in my case Tuesday) and set that
as my errand day. As I am shuttling kids back and forth, I do my
errands as well. I work full time, but made and agreement with
my employer to leave the office early 2 days a week to allow my
kids to take part in these activities. I make up the time
working at home in the evening or on the weekend.
- Our 5 year old went to daycamp last week. We
pretended that it was Kindergarten to get the idea of how our
routines might go once Sept. arrives. We picked out clothes
the night before, made a lunch and got the swim bag ready--and I
always reminded her that we will do this every night for school.
When I picked her up at the end of the day I asked if there were
any notes from her daycamp teacher--just like kindergarten. I'm
hoping that small effort will help come Sept.
- The best tip I have is for parents of high schoolers.
Make an appointment to meet your student's counselor.
This person will be a great asset and allay for you student's
high school years.
Counselors help your student get the
best classes and teachers. They also help with applying for
college, including helping with applying for financial aid and
scholarships.
If you are concerned with some behaviors
your student may be exhibiting, counselors a valuable asset in
allaying your fears. If the behavior needs to be addressed,
counselors know the best resources and people in your area to
deal with the problems.
Court these people. They can be
worth their weight in rubies for their help and insight.
Remember this may be your first time with a teen but they have
probably dealt with hundreds and have been down many roads
before you.
- Even though my kids still have their mornng routines
(thanks to FlyLady) during the summer, things are a little more
relaxed when school is out. About a week before school
actually starts, I start waking my kids up at "school time"
and they get ready as if they are leaving for school. Of course,
their clothes are laid out the night before, backpacks ready to
go. It just helps to have a few days of "practice" before the
schoolbus shows up that first morning.
- Here's a few tips that has worked for me an extremely
busy payroll SHE.
- Spend a few minutes a day the next couple weeks going
through the kids closets, and keep two or three favorite
Tshirt/pants/shorts.
- Make a list of their clothes needs, white socks for gym,
shorts, Tshirts, jacket, shoes, gym shoes, shirt from a
special store, my dd's get one item each from Abercrombie and
fitch, the rest od the stuff at discount. Put a number next to
each item, six pair socks etc, take the list to the stores,
and set a time limit. BUY ONLY WHAT IS ON THE LIST!!!
- Go throught their supplies, and do a fling boogie, half
used pencils, erasers, incomplete crayon boxes etc. You knopw
you are going to buy them new stuff. If you have stuff, put
them in a box and check that item off the list of back to
school shopping.
- Schools usually give out back to school supply list, add
back pack, lunch box etc. BUY ONLY WHAT IS ON THJE LIST!!! If
the school did not , make your own list!
- As soon as you are back from shopping, give them the
pleasure of packing their new stuff for the new school year,
and the stuff gets put away and there willl be no mad rush the
day before school reopens. Have them hang their new clothes up
right away.
- The night before school starts, they can have everything
ready during their evening routine.
- I have started them and plan to continue a to do list for
the next day, homework, project, pian, dance lessons, after
school activities etc so they don't miss any appointments etc.
THEY SHOULD GIVE YOU THEIR LIST
- With that you can plan, extra snack, after school chaffeur
service LOL etc.
- We take a short trip to the pool after dinner the
last evening before school starts. My children know that
swimming tires them out. They will sleep well and be prepared to
get up early and rested for the first day.
- I am a first time school mom, but I have a couple
routines that I remember following when I was in school. About a
month before school started my mom would start making me go to
bed a few minutes earlier each night until I reached my "school
time" bedtime hour. Then she would wake me up a few minutes
earlier each morning until I was waking up at the time I would
be for school. I have started this with my daughter already.
Another thing I have started doing, is waking my daughter up
about 10 minutes earlier from her nap each day. In her
kindergarten, she will only be able to take a 30 minute nap. At
home, she still takes a 2 hr. nap. I hope this works for her.
And I hope this will help some other flybabies. Flybaby in Texas
- What perfect timing! My DS is in year around school
and started just this morning. Two weeks ago I "borrowed" and
reworked material from the website to create a daily routine in
three parts ~ morning, afternoon & evening for him with a
catchy nick-name title on top.
My DS is so happy with
how is room looks now days and was very excited when I showed
him this daily routine. He is starting 2nd grade and is a very
hard worker & of course, a perfectionist. But I swear over
the summer it's like his brain grew and all the little neuro
connections haven't been re-established! I have to tell my kid,
who has always been taught to do things the first time asked,
over and over to do things because he keeps forgetting what I
just said. This makes him very frustrated with himself. By
having this posted on the wall in his room, when he can't
remember what he's suppose to be doing, he just checks the wall
and gets back on track.
We had been doing a modified
routine during the summer break, as I just found your site in
May, but started doing "dry runs" of the full routine last week
to get the bugs out. Things went very smoothly this morning, we
have of course, some tweaking to do, but over all, it was a very
peaceful morning. Even with my DH's car in the shop, (who
usually drops off DS so that the toddler doesn't have to be
rousted) and having to drop him off at work as well! - Thanks
for the great ideas!
- As a mother of two kids ages 8 and 11, I have found
two tips to be especially helpful for back to school. First,
start moving bedtime 15 minutes earlier every few days to
help get the kids back on schedule. Ours have to be up at 6:30
am for school, so we have to get the younger one to bed by 8pm.
By going only a few minutes earlier each night, the routine is
easy to get into and no stress at all.
The second tip
comes from my daughter. She likes me to help her pick out all
her outfits for a school week. We line them up on hangers at
the front of the closet. We even put socks and hair accessories
with the outfits. She likes the organized feeling this gives her
and I like the no stress dressing in the morning. Many
department stores have closet organizers with fabric shelves
labeled with the days of the week. This would work perfectly for
younger children as well. Take care, Flybaby in Marietta, GA
- I have 4 big dishpans in my front closet, one
for each of my 4 kids. Their backpacks, bike locks, etc go in
them. If I have a school paper to sign for one of them, I can
sign it and put it in his/her bin. This is helping them keep
track of their stuff and giving me a place for all their school
stuff. Two of them put their clothes for the next day in their
bins (guess which kids were BO?)
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