Back to School with Macaroni Kid

Back to school time is often filled with many emotions.  Excitement, anxiety, anticipation...and that's just the moms!  Here are a few tips to help ease back into the routines long lost over the summer months.

Sleep Schedule/Bedtime Routine  One of the fun parts of summer for kids is getting to stay up late and sleep in.  That first day of school can be a very rude awakening if kids aren't gradually put back on a school sleep schedule.  The week beforehand, start enforcing an earlier bedtime, even just 5-10 min earlier at a time, and then gradually back it up to the desired bedtime a few days before school actually starts.  Also start using the bedtime routine you'd like to use during the school year.   (We usually brush teeth, read books for a bit, and then up to bed.)  Use the same idea for the mornings.  If you'll need to get your child up earlier than they usually sleep to, then start  waking up them up a few minutes earlier each day.  It will take some time for kids to re-adjust to the new sleep routine, but they will!

Plan ahead for breakfast and/or lunch for the week School mornings usually don't allow for a leisurely breakfast.  Time is limited and kids need to get ready quickly, while still eating a healthy breakfast.  Anything you can prepare ahead of time and freeze is a good thing.  There a lot of healthy and fast breakfast recipe ideas, such as Power Breakfast .Also, limit the choices.  On Sunday night create a breakfast menu board (try a dry erase board) for the week with easy to make, quick, options.  In the morning allow your child(ren) to pick from the menu.  That way you are giving them choices, but still controlling it to be sure you are prepared with what they want.  Use the same idea when packing lunches. Prepare ahead of time as much as you can and give your child some menu choices during the week. If you really want to make your children smile when they open their lunch, include a Love Note

Prepare the night before Picking out clothes and making sure the backpack is ready to go are two easy things to do the night before that can help make the mornings go much smoother!

Plan for extra time
Inevitably the first few mornings are not going to go exactly as planned.  So, plan that getting out the door will probably take a few extra minutes.  Also keep in mind that you'll probably want to take 1st Day of School pictures and there could be tears when dropping off kids at school.  And, as a former teacher I will say that long goodbyes don't help anyone.  Leaving a tearful kid behind is HARD (trust me, I know, I have a little boy who will crying the first day!) but also trust that they will be fine and the sooner you are gone the sooner the tears will stop (trust me, I taught Kindergarten!)

Rewards Jar Put a jar with rewards (mason jars work great) by the door.  If your kids have a good morning with no problems, they can pick a reward to be used after school on the way out the door in the morning.  Rewards can be things like extra DS time, computer, or TV time...things you're child will be excited about when they come home!  Allowing for a little extra TV time is worth it if the mornings go smoothly!

Plan a special 1st day of school dinner Make the day special by having a special dinner on the first day.  It's a big day for kids and they'll need a little extra attention, so this is one simple way to make sure our kids know how much we love them!  

The most important thing is to make sure we are there for our kids.  Listen to them, play with them, and give them all the attention they'll need because that alone will help tremendously in easing them back into the school routine!

Have a great school year everyone! You can subscribe to Macaroni Kid, a FREE E-newsletter that shares local family events and happenings in South Orange County, along with parenting articles, menu ideas, crafts for kids, giveaways and more! Subscribe HERE and join the fun at AlisoViejo.Macaronikid.com