How to Make Getting Ready for the School Year Easier on You and Your Child

School will be starting up here in the near future. As a mother who has a step son going into the third grade, a son of my own going into the second grade and another one starting his first year of school this year, I can tell you from experience how hard it is to go from summer time to school year. This switch seems to be hard not only on the children but also on the parents. Here is some advice to make this years transition a little easier for everyone.

Bed time and Early wake ups:

Start getting everyone use to the school year bed time and wake ups now. This will allow for an easier transition come school time. Now if your kids are anything like mine then bed time will usually be a fight and a test of wills. I also have one child who balks at getting up in the mornings. This does not change despite what time of year it is. So why do I recommend starting the school year routine now if I know it does not work on my children? The reason for this is that even if your kids balk at all of this constantly, it helps to get you ready for the switch. Yep I do it mainly to get myself ready for the school year.

Set up a routine:

To help get your child back into the swing of a school routine, you should start working with them now. Set a side reading time for your child where they should focus on reading. Set aside also some time for them to work on their creative writing and even set them up with some grade appropriate math problems. As they have not learned anything for the grade they are going into yet, keep the work to that of the previous year. This will help them to get back into a routine, while helping them also do a brush up on last years learning.

School Clothes:

Getting school clothes for your children should not be done at the last minute. By leaving this to the last minute you run the risk of forgetting something that is needed. Plus by waiting till the last minute you are forced to buy everything all at once. This can get pretty expensive when it has to be done at one time. By purchasing school clothes now and up till school starts you can purchase a little bit here and there and take the strain off of how expensive school clothes can be.

For more ideas on how to take the financial crunch off of purchasing school clothes take a look at my article, "Ways to Cut Your Expenses Down when Buying Clothes for Your Child". In the article I show you various ways to keep your kid in good clothes for a fraction of the costs.

School Supplies:

This is another area where I get a kick out of watching parents scurry around the stores cramming themselves into the school supply isles at the last minute. I understand that sometimes you won't know everything your child will need for the following school year until right there before school starts. So for those items I do understand that you must wait to purchase them. But there are some items you know you kid will need and you should pick them up now instead of waiting till later. Things such as pencils, scissors, erasers, crayons and a backpack can be picked up early and placed in a closet until they are needed. If you just love crowded stores and last minute hectic shopping, then by all means I suggest you wait until the last minute.

When put into place all of this should help to make the transition from summer vacation to school year less stressful on both your child and you. If started early enough then come the start of the school year you and your child should be ready for it.