101 Back-to-School Tips

It’s back-to-school season again! As we bid goodbye to summer, we welcome another year of fun learning in school. There are tons of advice and strategies to help parents stay on top of things.

But how can you get a jump on the school year? Here are some useful tips for parents to manage their kids with ease this back-to-school season.

Time Management

1. Use a timer or a stopwatch to get your kids to complete little school tasks
2. Spend a huge amount of time with your kids, play with them, and watch them grow up. You’ll be surprised at how much time flies
3. Create a regular bedtime routine for your kids in elementary or preschool
4. Two weeks before the first day of school, practice your kids’ sleep schedules back to when they had school.
5. Create a family time before you go to bed or during dinner
6. Do a regular weekday and weekend bedtimes.
7. Do a regular weekday and weekend wake-up calls.
8. Do not overschedule. Keep track of your kids’ activities
9. Create a checklist for a morning routine
10. Always be on time. Be a role model to your kids to never be late.
11. Set your clock 10 minutes advanced to avoid being late
12. Create an effective wake-up alarm which works for you and your kids
13. Set a notification or alarm 30 minutes before you go to bed. Make it recurring
14. Create a pet-care schedule for you and your kids to follow.
15. If necessary, create a bathroom schedule to avoid fighting for bathroom time

Get Organized

1. Create homework boxes for each of your children which they can carry around the house to do their homework.
2. Designate a put-away bin in the house to keep things that are out of their place.
3. Inspire your kids to be organized. Let them pick a method to organize like a planner or a calendar and get them excited to use it
4. Make a family calendar together with your kids. This will include everyone’s activities
5. Meet your kids before the week to review their schedule and plan ahead
6. Sync your individual calendars to the family calendar
7. Introduce them to a calendar system to organize their schedule
8. Using an iPad? Download iHomework app or MyHomeWork app to help them organize
9. Store school supplies and other essential electronics in one place
10. Once a month, go over your kids’ stuff and throw the items you don’t need
11. When they come home, ask them to put their bags, shoes, lunch boxes in the right place
12. TV and video games should be removed from these areas where kids do their homework
13. Organize their school supplies and put labels
14. Teach your kids how to make their own filing system for documents
15. Make your house kid-friendly. Use steppers in the lavatory, use shorter coat hangers, kid-proof their beds.
16. Check for assignments which you’d like to keep. File them
17. Create a box in your house which is specifically for important things – like permission slips that require your signature, other important school announcements
18. Go through your child’s wardrobe to see if anything requires fixing.
19. Make a laundry system to easily sort and wash clothes
20. Flag items that your kids shouldn’t forget
21. File all important papers such as health records in one single, accessible envelope
22. Put your kids’ sports equipment in the garage or basement
23. Use toy racks for your kids’ toys to help them keep organized
24. Set up an organizer for clothes they will wear to school the whole week
25. Under-the-bed storage can be used to store toys your kids are not using
26. A shower caddy in the washroom helps everyone become more organized
27. A play date caddy should always be there, ready to go, with games, clothes, and toys

Lunch & Meals

1. Buy snacks in bulk – grapes, crackers, cheese – these can be easily added to a school lunch box.
2. Sit down with your kids and discuss the advantages of bringing their lunch to school
3. Ask your kids to pack their own lunch in the morning before they go to school
4. Organize ingredients for lunch in your fridge so you can make lunch easily in the morning
5. Lunch boxes can help save the environment. Use them.
6. Make a week’s worth of lunch – wrap them in foil and freeze. Thaw them the night before
7. Use sticky notes in your kids’ lunch box or notebook to help them remember the tasks they need to do at school
8. Get them involved in preparing their own lunch
9. Let them accompany you when grocery shopping for their lunch at school
10. Buy sports bottles you can use to encourage your kids to take in more water during the day

After School

1. Hire someone who can look after your kids while you’re at work
2. There’s no harm in hiring a tutor to look after your kids’ academic performance so you can spend more time at home
3. Arrange a couple of playdates with your kids’ classmates by asking for a list of students from the teacher
4. Encourage your kids to attend after-school activities to keep them busy
5. Visit cultural attractions with your kids to boost their brain activity
6. Make a list of all possible after-school activities for you and your kids.
7. Create a schedule for your kids’ after-school. This should help them relax, play, and study.

Productivity

1. Encourage your kids to read one book before the beginning of the school year.
2. Ask your kids to set goals every year. Create a list of their yearly goals
3. Take some stern rules about screen time during the school year. How much screen time do you allow?
4. Always tell them to prioritize their assignments whenever they make their to-do lists
5. After they complete one homework, let them take a short break.
6. Set an alarm every day to mark the start of doing homework in the house. Make this a regular habit.
7. Create an area in your house just for homework. This encourages them to do their homework
8. Study dates should be supervised. Help them work with their peers during projects.
9. You can schedule some study time during the weekend for big tests and final exams

School Preparation

1. Early shopping for school supplies is key to avoid the rush
2. Moving to a new school? Visit the school with your kids to get a feel of the school environment
3. Before you buy any new school supplies, check the ones you already have.
4. Before you go back to school shopping, create a list of everything you will need.
5. Let your kids pick out the items. Take them to shop with you.
6. Check your kids’ wardrobe from time to time. Donate some clothes which are too small for them to wear.
7. Contact your child’s teacher as early as first day of school so you can ask them about issues your kids might face
8. Create a budget for back to school shopping – this includes supplies, food, and clothes.
9. Replace old school bags with sturdy ones

School Day

1. Ask your kids to prepare their school clothes the night before they go to school.
2. Ask them to prepare their school bags every night before they go to school
3. Prepare the breakfast table before you go to bed. This saves you time in the morning!
4. Ask your kids to pack their gym or sports bags and leave it at the door
5. Let them choose their own clothes and shoes
6. Keep small emergency allowance in your kids’ bags
7. In case your kids miss the school bus, always have a backup plan for transport
8. Remove mobile devices in your kids’ room to help them sleep
9. Use night lights or night lamps to help kids fall asleep
10. Don’t be ashamed to hire a housekeeper to help you with cleaning
11. Keep a tab on all the expenses for clothing, school supplies every week

Reflection

Ask your kids, what do they expect on the first day? Talk them through the things they need to do to be more prepared
Arrange some playdates with your kids’ friends to rekindle ties.
Make them choose which activities they want to do with you during the day.
Remember to model good at home by doing some homework while they do theirs.
Always be stern yet flexible in implementing rules
Always make it a practice to ask your kids to only keep the things they need
Get menu copies in the school to discuss with your kids
Check your child every now and then and ask them how they are.
Create some me-time – 30 minutes of your schedule every day
Make a reward system for your kids when they help with household chores or perform well in school
Don’t use negative phrases like “You’re not going outside to play unless you finish this.” Instead, use “You can go and play outside after you finish your homework.”
Think about other ways to be involved in the classroom as a parent
Talk to them about how they feel returning to school and make sure to address these problems or challenges.