Tips for getting back in the school routine

Tips for getting back in the school routine. Because everyone can use a refresher on back-to-school tips for sleep, homework, school lunch, and more. Hopefully, these tips for getting back in the school routine will make your life a little easier…

Tips for getting back in the school routine

Bedtime and wake-up routine.

Au revoir to the late nights of summer…it’s time to get back on schedule for sleep. Re-introduce school day sleep routines…turn screens off, get into pjs, brush teeth/wash face, read a book together, lights out (or night lights on — if those are needed). And be consistent. Kids need a consistent bed time routine. And wake-up routine too. Set expectations of when to get up, breakfast, getting dressed, teeth brushing/face washing, making bed, making sure everything for school is packed (lunch, gym clothes, forms).

Homework.

Is homework done before dinner or after dinner? At the kitchen table on at a desk in their room? With music or without? You need to decide how homework is done in your home and stick with your rules of homework.

School lunch.

I HIGHLY recommend reading my THE ULTIMATE SCHOOL LUNCH LIST INDEX post (it is, by far, a reader favourite). Whether you pack a bento, Thermos, sandwich lunch…the downloadable school lunch list in that post is super handy for organizing your meal planning and lunch prep.

School forms, pizza day, field trips

I created a organization strategy where I check the kids’ agendas and school bags for school forms, pizza day information (my favourite school day!), and field trip forms as soon as they get home from school. I also verbally ask, “do you have any papers for me?“. Then, I take them out and sign/fill them out immediately and put them back in the bag. That way, I’m not scrambling to find papers later on. I also mark pizza day and field trips on the family calendar (which is on a cork board in our kitchen for easy reference). That way, I know when NOT to make lunch, when to check the weather forecast for field trips, and when to pack an easier-to-carry lunch (on field trip days I usually pack an easier to carry lunch so that the backpack isn’t weighted down too much).

PD Days and School Breaks

I also mark down, on our school calendar, the PD days and school breaks for the entire year starting in September. I have 3 kids, in 3 different school boards (university, high school and elementary school) and I just can’t mentally keep track of who is off when (because none of them have the same breaks). So putting it all down on the calendar means I can organize my life a little better.

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