Get Organised for School

I don’t know about you but kids being at, or going back to, school can cause some serious chaos. But there can be less drama if my family prepares the night before, and follows the routine to get organised for school.

In order to get organised for school, first agree on a daily schedule that suits the family and encourage your child to take responsibility for following the routine.

The night before (if you can):

• Put all the non-perishable food in the lunchboxes, then you just have to add drinks and sandwiches in the morning;

• Put snacks/sandwiches in the fridge ready to transfer to lunchbox;

• Make sure the juice bottles are filled and in the fridge/freezer;

• Put out uniform or outfit for the following day;

• Make sure all school bags are ready and packed with all completed homework inside including if you need PE kits, musical instruments etc for the next day.

• Make sure you’ve signed any forms etc that need attention for the next day;

• Check all homework has been done and is in the bag ready to go to school.

In the morning:

• Get up at least 15 minutes earlier than you think you need to. There’s always some drama that unfolds in the morning.

• Have a checklist if needed to help your child remember their morning routine. Many children love ticking things off as they do them. You could use it as a reward chart for a daily sticker to wear on their t-shirt – or a weekly reward if that works better. Write down all that this includes: getting dressed, eating breakfast, brushing teeth, brushing hair, washing face, making bed, putting shoes on, checking bags.

• Ensure your kids have enough time to enjoy a healthy breakfast in the morning.

Homework

Some children find learning difficult and some find it easy when they get into it but it doesn’t matter where they are on the learning spectrum, some children seem to find it impossible to sit and do their homework!

It is a good idea to sit with them, or, if they are older, to take an interest in what they’ve been asked to do and what they’ve come up with when they have finished. For younger children, having your moral support is important and by talking to them you can help them to learn. You don’t need to be their teacher and shouldn’t do the homework for them, but it’s good to share ideas and ask them questions to help them reach the answer.

While having a routine helps, if your child is resistant, battles are bound to happen and then it’s no fun for anyone… and routine tends to go out of the window at that point. But hopefully the suggestions below will help both you and your child to get to grips with homework – after all, it will become even more integral to your child’s education as they continue to grow!

• Sit at a table with pens, eraser and paper at hand.
• Turn off the TV.
• Try to keep brothers / sisters distracted.
• Choose a time when your child is best able to work. After a quick snack when you’ve got in from school, or after tea and before bed perhaps?
• Try to stick to the same routine.
• If your children are around the age of 6 or 7 you will find they are starting to get a little homework. A few spellings, a bit of reading, and an occasional maths sheet perhaps. By the time they get to high school the pressure is really on! It can be difficult to know what you can do to help them – for most children homework is a chore that they don’t really want to do. And if you leave them to it, they’ll be rushing at the last minute, and if you nag them, it seems to make it worse. Sorry – don’t know the answer to that one!

School Notices

If you haven’t created a launch pad in your home, now is the time to get that sorted out. Either you have baskets or clipboards on the wall for each family member, or you can use folders in your home office. The trick to organize and actioning school notices is having them placed in a central place that is know to family members. When you are planning your week, you should have a master calendar of sorts that would outline everything that everyone is doing. This way you won’t double-book yourself.

Extra Mural & Weekly Activities

Before you’ve even had a chance to catch your breath, the kids start extra mural. If your kids are busy, you’re going to have to get on top of their activities early on to avoid feeling over-whelmed.

I would suggest you use a weekly planner that is placed in your ‘command-central’ area as well as in your child’s room. This planner should outline what the child is doing and what they require for those extra murals. Start handing over the responsibility of packing to your child (if they are old enough to do so).

Remember to critically examine the activities your child is participating in. Why should they do activities that they have absolutely no interest in ‘just because’? Children need to be stimulated but not so much that they suffer from burn out before they are 12!

Lift Clubs

Lighten the load and organize lift clubs for your kids where you can. Doing this with other parents in our area has been a lifesaver as my kids go to schools in completely different directions. Most parents are in the same boat as you, so share the load where you can.