Tips for preparing for the new school year

It’s hard to believe, but it is almost time to head back to school. After a summer of relaxation and fun, it’s always a bit nerve-wracking to get back to the hustle and bustle of the school year. Add a pandemic to that, and returning to school feels even more stressful. Here are a few ways you and your family can be prepared for the first day of class.

Talk about it. Discuss with your children how they feel about returning to school. Are they nervous, excited, maybe both? Do they have any specific worries about starting the new school year? Do they have any goals in mind, like things they want to learn about most or activities in which they’d like to participate? Which friends are they looking forward to seeing? Do they want to try making new friends this year? Thinking through and talking about all the things they’re anticipating might help make the new year feel less overwhelming.

Plan the meals and snacks. It can be fun to focus on the nonacademic parts of the school day, like breakfast, snacks and lunch. Ask your child what kind of breakfast they like to eat before school and what their favorite snacks are. This can be a great way to involve them in the back-to-school planning without having to focus on anything too stressful.

Practice your new schedule. One of the hardest parts of saying goodbye to summer vacation is readjusting to that dreaded, early alarm. Try to use the week or two before school to slowly adjust to a new schedule of going to bed and waking up earlier. This reduces stress the night before the first day and avoids a rough change in sleep schedules.

Finish school shopping early. Back-to-school shopping is stressful for parents and kids. Try to get it out of the way the week before school so you can have a calm family weekend together before schedules get packed with new activities.

Visit the school before the first day. Sometimes teachers invite families to preview the classroom and school before the school year is underway. If that opportunity isn’t available to you, take a family trip over to the school to check out the building, visit the playground and find the bus and car loading zones. This is especially important if your child is attending a new school this year, but a quick refresher can still help students returning to the same school get rid of their first-day jitters. You can also make this trip into a practice run for the first day of school.

Stock up on cleaning supplies. This is especially important during the pandemic. Provide your child with some personal tissues, hand sanitizer, an extra mask and sanitizing wipes to bring with them to school. Keep a stock of cleaning supplies at home as well to periodically sanitize school supplies throughout the year.

Create a communication and planning hub. Before schedules start to get hectic, create a central place in the home for your family to communicate. Wall calendars with an area for notes, such as a whiteboard, are great for keeping track of everyone’s plans and activities as well as other notes such as shopping lists and project deadlines.

Start a routine. Preparing at night for the next day is key for a stress-free morning. Start getting in the habit of selecting clothes the night or week before and create a bedtime routine that works best for your family during the school year, such as setting a time for eating dinner, winding down, brushing teeth and putting on pajamas.