Back to School Transition Tips – End of Summer Celebration
August 16, 2008
Chocolate chip pancakes are my family’s celebration food. We don’t have them all the time but whenever there is a special event, a birthday, or a holiday I like to make chocolate chip pancakes for my kids. A few years ago I started making chocolate chip pancakes for them for breakfast on the first day of school but I found that it made our morning a little bit too rushed so instead of having them on the first day of school I have them for supper the night before.
Our typical last day of summer looks like this:
Morning school routine
Pack a picnic lunch and head out for a family activity
Supper:
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Chocolate chip pancakes
Bacon
Mandarin oranges and pineapples
Chores
Take a walk together
Read a story
Bedtime routine
Snack: Chocolate banana shakes
Normal school night bedtime
I’ve found that by taking a bit of time to get ready for the first day of school it not only helps my kids ease back into the school year routine but it also helps me as well. Perhaps this is your first child’s first day of school, your eldest’s first day of his/her senior year, or maybe your baby is starting kindergarten. Whatever stage you and your child are facing a bit of preparation will help ease you both back into school and get you off to a great start.
Did you sign up yesterday to receive your free School Days newsletter? The first issue is going to be going out on Monday and is going to give you some ideas for routines — making your mornings stress free, setting up an afterschool routine that will give your kids time to talk to you about their day and the routine that I’ve found works best for my kids.
Don’t forget about the free bonuses that you’ll receive when you sign up:
Back to School Report - 25 pages packed full of ideas that will help you with stuff like:
-
school clothes
hobbies
cleaning their rooms
buying your kid his/her own computer
dealing with issues with their friends or their teacher
driving to school
buying school supplies
stories to read to your kids
deciding how to volunteer at your kids school
what sports to register your child for
and more…!
Yummy school meals and snacks booklet - 10 pages of kid friendly recipes like:
-
Sloppy Joe Style Pizza
Breakfast Tacos
Chunky Chicken Salad for Lunch
Cheesy Apple Quesadillas
Frito Pie
Puffy Pizza Rolls
Cheesy Dogs in a Blanket
Turkey Kabobs for Lunch
Mini Pizza just for Kids
And more…!
Sign up right now and grab your copy of the newsletter and both of these bonuses!
Back to School Transition Tips - Homework
August 15, 2008
The start of the school year also means the start of homework once again. My kids do their homework at the dining room table so in a corner of my dining room I keep a basket full of school supplies which they will need in order to complete their homework. There’s a plastic in-basket sitting on my kitchen counter near the back door so the kids can bring in any papers from school and put them in this basket. When the kids sit down to do their homework I sit down at the table with them to make sure they’re doing it, help them if they need it, and to go through the in-basket and sign the papers as well as to discuss any assignments or tests with the kids.
Some of the items that I put into their homework basket include loose leaf paper, pens, pencils, pencil sharpener, rulers, crayons, colored pencils, glue, scissors, dictionary, calculator, red pens/pencils, highlighters, bookmarks, and a special treat they can eat after they finish their homework.
I have found that by having the supplies together in one place, having a place for them to deposit their papers, and by sitting down at the table with them when they do their homework they are more likely to actually complete the work that is sent home with them. When I don’t take the time to sit down with them they usually don’t do all their homework then I hear about it from their teachers!
I also make sure that I have a handy, nutritious snack prepared for them to eat before they start doing their homework. The kids know that as soon as they get in the door they are to drop off their papers into the in-box, take their backpacks to the dining room, change their clothes, pick up their snack, and then they have some time to chill out with me in the living room to talk about their day. After we’ve had some cool down time we get right into our homework routine.
I learned the hard way that it’s a good idea to start considering the inevitable start of homework. If you do a bit of advance planning you eliminate some of the hassle associated with homework.
On Monday I will be launching my newest free newsletter, School Days, you can sign up for it below so you won’t miss out on a single issue. I have a lot of information to share with you that will make this school year with your kids a lot less stressful. Here’s a list of what’s coming up for this month:
8-15 Routines: I’ll give you some ideas to make your mornings stress free, setting up an afterschool routine that will give your kids time to talk to you about their day and the routine that I’ve found works best for my kids.
8-22 Busy Kids: Are your kids involved in ballet, band, soccer, football, and a variety of other extracurricular activities? I’m going to share some tips with you to help you decide if you’re kids are too busy and how to choose afterschool activities for your kids. I’ll also give you some advice for getting your child to help out and do some chores around the house
8-29 Eliminating Meal Time Chaos: Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, at least that’s what I’ve been told so I’m going to give you some ideas for breakfast that will help boost your child’s energy level. I also have some ideas for afternoon snacks that my kids absolutely love and give you some advice to plan evening menus and eliminate the evening chaos around your house.
There is going to be a lot of exciting stuff that you won’t want to miss out on especially since school is getting ready to start so be sure to sign up and as special bonus I’m going to give you a free 25 page back to school report packed full of ideas that will help you with stuff like:
-
school clothes
hobbies
cleaning their rooms
buying your kid his/her own computer
dealing with issues with their friends or their teacher
driving to school
buying school supplies
stories to read to your kids
deciding how to volunteer at your kids school
what sports to register your child for
and more…!
As an additional bonus I’m going to give you a 10 page recipe booklet full of great school meals and snacks like:
-
Sloppy Joe Style Pizza
Breakfast Tacos
Chunky Chicken Salad for Lunch
Cheesy Apple Quesadillas
Frito Pie
Puffy Pizza Rolls
Cheesy Dogs in a Blanket
Turkey Kabobs for Lunch
Mini Pizza just for Kids
And more…!
Don’t miss out on all this free stuff that I’m giving you! I have one more back to school transition tip to share with you in a few days so I’ll see ya then!
Back to School Transition Tips – Morning Routines
August 13, 2008
How long does it take for your kids to get up, shower, get dressed, eat breakfast, brush their teeth, and grab their back packs? If you don’t know this you could be looking at a stressed and disastrous first day or several days of school. Whether you have one kid or several kids that have to go through all these steps every morning before school it is a good idea to know how long you need to allow for these morning activities. A week before school starts I start having them go through all the motions of their morning routine so I can figure out if we are going to be rushed every morning or even have way to much time on our hands. If the kids are taking too much time getting through their morning rituals I adjust their wake up times a bit in order to make sure they have enough time to get through everything they need to do. If they are left with too much time on their hands before we would need to leave then I give them a few extra minutes to either sleep or lay in bed before making them get up. I don’t like them having too much time on their hands in the morning because they start to make messes or whine for television or just give me too much grief about being bored. One of the other things I have done if they are left with too much time after getting ready is to sit down with a timer and read a story to them until the timer dings. Setting a timer is especially important so I don’t get too wrapped up in the book and forget to get them to school on time!
I have found that if I routinely read them a story before school every morning that it encourages everyone to get dressed and moving more quickly so they have time to listen to the story. This also keeps me focused on their morning routines rather than getting lost in the morning e-mails and not paying attention when they start to dawdle.
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Back to School Transition Tips – Open House
August 11, 2008
Shortly before school starts our school has an “open house” day where the kids can come in and see their classroom, find their locker, and meet their new teacher. The kids can bring in their new school supplies, choose their desk, and put their supplies away. This works really good so the kids don’t have to carry a bunch of stuff on the first day of school. My kids really enjoy this night because they finally get to find out if they are going to be in the same class as their friends. Of course if they’re disappointed I hear about it for the next few days but I just take the time to listen to their concerns and help them express their feelings about their disappointment.
Both buddy and the baby will be starting in new schools this year so taking the time to show them around their schools is especially important to them. The baby has been in his new school quite a bit because his older siblings have been attending there for the past couple of years and he has been with me every time I picked them up from school. So he is pretty familiar with the school but he will be seeing it a bit differently since he will now have a classroom in their school. Buddy has taken a couple of field trips with his sixth grade class to the junior high so they could tour the school and get a chance to check things out and start becoming familiar and comfortable with their new surroundings. So he will know the layout of the school a little bit and we will just need to walk through his school and find all his classrooms, locate his locker, and get an idea of what his daily schedule will be like.
If your kids school has an open house day don’t forget to take advantage of the opportunity to get your child familiar with and comfortable with his or her new surroundings for the school year.
Don’t miss the next tip; take time to subscribe to my blog so you can be notified in your e-mail in-box. I’ll see ya again in a few more days!
Back to School Transition Tips – Their worries
August 9, 2008
Once I have the kids going to bed earlier they know that school is just around the corner and it won’t be long until the long summer days are coming to an end. I usually start easing them back into their school year bedtime routine on a Sunday night since that would traditionally be a school night during the school year; about Wednesday I start talking to the kids about school and trying to get an idea of how they feel about going back to school. Two years ago when I started this discussion with my daughter she told me she was really nervous about school because she knew that both of the third grade teachers were boys and she’d never had a boy teacher before and she was uncomfortable with the idea. We spent some time discussing why she was uncomfortable and what she thought was going to be different and how she could become comfortable with the idea of a boy teacher. That year was also the first year that my youngest son was going to preschool alone. For the first two years that he had been in preschool his older brother had been going with him; he was sad that he was going to be alone and not have him there. He was afraid he wouldn’t know how to find the bathroom and who was going to tell the teacher when he needed something and how would he get his backpack put together without his brother. (Have you figured out his older brother is a nurturer? LOL) He had some legitimate concerns even though he was just four years old and it was important that I helped him deal with what he was worried about so he could feel comfortable when he started school.
This year buddy will be starting junior high; this is a big transition for him. Not only is he going to a different school but everything is going to be more difficult, more will be expected of him, and he will also be playing football on a team for the first time. We’ve already started talking about these changes and how he feels about them; he’s made it perfectly clear to me that he’d prefer to start homeschooling again!
Talking to my kids about school before school starts is extremely important to them and to me as well. By taking the time to find out how they are feeling I am able help them figure out some solutions to their fears and give them some comfort so they can be better prepared for their first day.
Did you take the time to subscribe in my last post: Back to School Transition Tips? If not you can do so by entering your name and e-mail address below. This way you can be sure not to miss the rest of the ideas I have for getting our kids ready for going back to school. I’ll see ya in a couple of days with another idea!
