It’s that time of year again; it sneaks up on parents,
children, and teachers everywhere like the changing of the seasons. The
welcomed yet dreaded first day of school! As this day approaches, there are
small things you can do to ease the stress.
Begin preparations for the school year by planning a
calendar. The easiest way to start is to get a twelve month calendar of any
kind, but with boxes you can write or type in. Then go to your child’s school
website and fill in all the applicable dates. This calendar will be your
roadmap for the year; keep it in a place where it is easily accessible, so you
can add to it as new activities or appointments come up.
The second step to prepare for the start of school is
purchasing school supplies. This can be a big burden to many, so here are my
ideas on how to make buying the supplies a bit easier. Go get the list as soon
as possible from Walmart or Staples. Take the list home and see if you have any
supplies on hand. Then split the list up by how many pay periods you have till
the first day of school. If you have two pay periods, then split the list in
half and so on. When dividing up the list, be sure to pair pricey items with
less expensive items to make this purchase easier on your budget. Also, check store adds you may not frequent regularly; such as, Walgreen, Kroger, Hyvee, and Menards. These stores often have a section for school supplies, as well. If you happen
to have some extra money, be sure to stock up on extra supplies for your home
or to give as gifts. Crayons, scissors, pencils, baggies, and folders are the
cheapest for name brands this time of year. If you can stock up; it will save
you money in the long run. Now that you have all the supplies for home and
school, take the time to pack the school supplies up and put them in a safe
place. As for the home supplies, designate a specific spot in your home to keep
them. This place could be a kitchen drawer, a cubby, or a stand-alone
container. To keep the pencils, markers, crayons, glue and scissors organized
buy them separate supply boxes that will fit into the larger container. Having
all the supplies organized will help your child complete their homework in a
timely manner and alleviate the need for you to pester them to hurry up and get
started.
Lastly, find a day a week or two before the start of school
to put together freezer meals or fast meals. As the school year begins, your
evenings will be very busy. Having meals that are already put together and only
need to be heated in the oven will save you time. Many freezer meal recipes can
be found online by using a search engine or Pinterest. Not to mention, many of
the meals you fix every day can be assembled ahead of time and frozen to be
cooked at a later date. Don’t delay and put a few together, so you aren’t
spending more money running through a drive thru at the last minute.
Back to school time is a stressful time for us all. It is
definitely a welcomed, yet cursed time of year. Kids and parents alike want to
have the structure that going to school provides for our lives, but having to
prepare to make that transition from the lazy days of summer can be daunting. I
hope I have provided you with some suggestions that will help you make the
switch easier.