Get Organized for the School Year
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I know the kids are just out of school for summer, but it is never too early to start thinking about the new school year. I can remember the days when I had to organize my three girls and myself for back to school. If you are new here, I used to work at our local elementary school as a teacher, and until 2014 when the bottom fell out of my world, I would get geared up for back to school just like I was one of the students. There are many tips I could share with you from the teacher’s point of view and the parent’s. Because I wore both hats, I wanted to share some ways you can get organized for the school year.
First, start the new year fresh. I know some of us are still struggling with the pandemic and getting back to normal, but you need to remember your kids are struggling too. So with each new year, talk about what making a fresh start can mean to your child. And as you are talking about fresh starts, use examples like shopping for school clothes and new supplies for school.
Let your child have fun picking out all the things they will need for the school. If they want the puppy notebook ( even if they are 15), let them get it because they only have one chance to be a kid. And they want a shiny new coat or a cool headband or hat. Let them get it if you can afford it. Make a day of shopping for school supplies that includes lunch at their favorite place to eat.
Then when you get home, plan another day tailored around getting those supplies organized. You will want to make sure that you add labels like the ones from Name Bubbles, these labels are washable so you can put their names on everything they are gonna bring to school. It could be a lunch box, hats, coats, pencils, pencil pouches/ boxes, backpacks, or even their mat for naps if they are in elementary school. Thes
Make a game of it- tell them that they can have extra few minutes on their devices for every item they label. You can add some movement to the fun. Take a bowl/ mason jar or whatever you have on hand and write down on paper slips some form of exercise on it. For example, after every 2 items, they pull a strip from the bowl, and they have to do that item. Be creative; it doesn’t have to be an exercise. It could be something like dancing to a song. Or if you are really sneaky and their room is really messy, you can sneak some chores in there for them to do.
You will also want to create a space in your home for kids to drop any papers they may get from school for you to look at and return. You can do this simply by grabbing some bins from the dollar store and placing labels with each child’s name on them. ( You can also organize their backpacks and shoes and hats and coats by creating a cubby they need before they go to bed at night that everything needs to be placed in there for the next morning- hopefully to end that morning madness when it comes to getting everyone out the door.)
Being organized doesn’t have to cost a lot of money; it just takes time to get a system that works for you and your family. I promise you that it will be worth it in the long run and make it so that you are better organized for the school year.
