It’s that time of the year, the summer’s over and it’s time for the kids to go back to school. The start of the new school year is an exciting time for kids, but it’s also not without a sense of panic sometimes. Each year, the schoolwork gets more difficult and there are bigger responsibilities for your kids. Every year at back to school time, you have to figure out your schedule and settle into a new routine. So, every bit of time-saving advice can be a huge help. Whether it’s getting out the door on time, keeping all those books copies and folders organized, or, if you’re lucky, getting closer to the goal of having your kids take over their morning time and night time routines themselves, these back to school hacks, approved by parents will help make things easier.

Getting on schedule.

Certainly, one of the hardest parts of going back to school is getting a schedule down. Each year brings its own rhythm with it, and it takes some practice before you get in the swing of things and if it’s your child’s first year at school, it will take some time for you both to get used to how things work. To make this transition easier, let your child know exactly what’s expected of them on school day mornings and when they get home with a routine chart. Knowing what they need to do will help them take to their new routine and hopefully save you getting overwhelmed.

Notes for and from the teacher.

Permission slips, notes, reports etc. They all get handed out in the class and have a habit of ending up down the bottom of the black hole that is your child’s backpack, never to be seen again. Then a few weeks later you wonder why you haven’t heard anything about the bake sale or sponsored walk and other event that’s going up tomorrow. You need to come up with a designated spot for these important communications. This clever mom took a plastic envelope, punched a hole in it, and attached it to her kids’ backpack with a carabiner so it wouldn’t get lost..

Back to school on the right foot.

If you have younger kids, chances are they get into difficulty keeping shoes on the right feet. As a rule, it’s usually a good idea to label your child’s shoes anyway, but that also gives you the opportunity to help them learn which shoe goes on which foot. Write out a name label and cut it in half, put the child’s first name in the left shoe, and the surname in the right. I’ll bet your putting the child’s name on everything else anyway. When your new school goer lines up their shoes to read their name correctly, they’ll also figure out whether they shoes are on the correct feet.

Obviously, these little tips will not solve all of the tasks or problems you might face when going back to school but we think they will certainly help in keeping things organised and keeping your stress levels down a little.