Hello and welcome back to another Tip Thursday in the longest time! Another school year is before us and I’m sure some of you are already back into your school year routine with your babies. Either way, I thought this would be the perfect time to share some of my tips to managing a less chaotic school season!
- Communication: I have our entire lives written on my personal calendar and our family calendar, which lives on our fridge. I cringe because it looks so cluttered and ugly, but that central location works! If you have a crazy life like ours, this is a simple way to communicate without needing to verbally communicate. My husband and I work opposite shifts so sometimes I forget or he forgets to mention something. Having everyone’s schedule on a main, accessible, calendar eliminates room for error. This helps with school schedules, work schedules, meetings, doctor appts, etc
- Bonus tip! Don’t forget to color code – my son is baby blue, my husband is navy, I’m maroon and my daughter is pink!
- If you have a special needs child(ren) this is especially helpful for them so they get to know their schedule, your schedule, and of course reading perks if nothing else
- Ready Set Go – this tip is for younger children. My son is 12, but if I left it up to him, he’d wear the same thing every day! So my prep starts on Sunday. I lay out 5 days worth of clothes and set it on top of his dresser with Monday’s outfit on top. I also make sure to check the forecast while I do this to prep accordingly. My son has an array of dressy to very simple and casual clothes, so this tip helps to rotate through all his clothes before he grows out of them.
- Homework station – historically, my son has never done homework in his room. I’ve always created a workstation either at the dining table or kitchen island. I reserve 1 kitchen drawer as the “stationary hub” for school activities. This is where his folders, pens, pencils, erasers, markers, and papers live. This way, everything is readily available for him and there’s no room for excuses to get things set up between the two of us
- Keepsakes – I don’t know about your children, but mine bring a TON of artwork and paper home. Over the years I’ve found a way to help me organize and prioritize these over abundant but very special keepsakes. I have a designated storage bin either in his room or in the garage. When he brings home his artwork and goods we look through them together before it stores it away. At the end of each semester, I’ll sort through the pile and keep a small handful of things and recycle the rest. This helps us keep a clean and tidy home while we get to savor some of his work.
- Because I throw out A LOT of things, I take pictures for memories. For instance, when my son was much younger, he did a lot of artwork, such as pottery. We can’t keep everything so I take of picture of him with his artwork
- Auto Reminders – just like I have recurring bills, so does my child, so do most children – I’m talking about school lunch! My son eats both breakfast and lunch at school so once I figure out how much it costs per day, I deposit “x” amount into his account. After that initial deposit, I create an auto reminder on my work calendar to refill his account every month. I’m on my computer all day long with my calendar open so this process works the best for me. Do what works for you
- This year my son is attending a new school. So for my last deposit last year, I only put enough money into his account to last through the end of the year this way I avoid dealing with third party vendors re: money and getting it out of the account etc
- Communication 2.0 – having that shared calendar helps in many wonderful ways. When I make my grocery list and meal prep for the week, knowing our schedules ahead of time helps me plan accordingly. If we have a busy week with lots of meetings, and schools events, I’m certainly not going to have the energy or WANT to cook. Prioritize your money – avoid wasting food – Take out for the win!
- Efficiency – schools send out A LOT of communication, sometimes it changes from year to year, from class to class and definitely from school to school. It’s not uncommon for communication such as student handbooks and policies to be delivered at the beginning of the year. Rather than relying on my memory to remember key things, I screen shot them instead. I create a “DO NOT DELTE” album on my phone and save those items there. Examples include: instructions on pick up and drop off, absence policy, parking rules, visitor policy, transportation etc. Should we need to exercise any of the above, which we usually do, I don’t need to go back into all the emails and documents to retrieve it. It’s already in my phone!
- Reward system and repercussions – This is a great idea for those with young children. When my son was in elementary, we created a small days of the week calendar for him. This was to track his school work, behavior and progress. We rewarded him with stars throughout the week. At the end of the week, if he met his star goal, he would get a reward of his choice (it was usually additional time for electronic devices). It may seem a bit pointless until you start noticing growth and progress in your child. Last year my son received a very bad grade in one of his classes and didn’t appreciate the repercussions. Sure enough, the following quarter, his grade significantly improved and he was then rewarded! He grasped the concept.
- Personal catalog – this tip might be even more helpful if you have multiple small children. As you all know, it seems that these days, schools want more and more information. The more the merrier right, especially for enrollment/registration and such. This may not be a one size fits all, but due to my job/lifestyle, this tip works for me. I have an electronic catalog of all my son’s information. This includes all his school accounts and IDs, parent portals, doctor’s info, and anything else that pertains to him. Whenever something comes up during the school year, I have 1 place to go for all that information. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve forgotten a password or have needed a doctor’s contact information
- Traditions – Make each school year memorable. Everything else is already stressful, so don’t forget to remind your child that milestones and success doesn’t have to be BIG to be celebrated. We celebrate the same 3 events every year: back to school, spring break getaway, and last day of school. The first one was a tradition created by my parents when my siblings and I were growing up. I loved it so much that I’ve incorporated it into my life. The purpose is to embrace a new year, address new challenges and lay the ground work for another successful year. A spring break getaway to me is a mid-year celebration to relax and unwind. It’s a small token to reward him for his work thus far and a reminder to continue working just as hard for the remainder of the year. The last one is quite obvious, it celebrates his wins and overall work and effort throughout the year. All of these celebrations are initiated by me but my child gets to choose how he wants to celebrate. It’s been FUN, but most importantly, we hope he’s starting to see the pattern, the uniqueness and the importance of why we’re doing this
Sweetrowyn 