Can you believe that we are approaching mid-July and the beginning of August so soon? I know that I cannot believe it! Mid to late July usually means that school preparations are underway, so if you are beginning to think about all of the ways to prepare to head back to school, here are a few things to add to your to-do list:
Check your clothing inventory
Check out your kids’ closets and see what they have. Take inventory, notice what they have grown out of or worn down, and write out a list of what they need for the upcoming school year. How do their backpacks look? Tennis shoes? Does their school require uniforms? Gym outfits? Make sure you take note of everything and once you figure out what you need, head to the stores while they are offering back-to-school sales. Back-to-school clothes and items are popular with little kids as well as big ones. It’s not too early to start the ritual of shopping for special school outfits or a backpack. It doesn’t have to be something expensive. Even a “new-to-you” item will have meaning when it is designated especially for back to school and it will get them really excited about the upcoming school year!
Start a morning schedule
Learning how to get ready each morning for the trip to school takes time and practice. It’s helpful to practice this before the actual first day. Pretend it’s a school day, and go through the steps of getting up, dressed, fed, and out the door. Even if you do not do a full-blown “practice morning,” setting up some sort of morning schedule to get your children used to an early wake-up time, or a faster pace morning is definitely helpful when it comes time to actually implement that. This way, there are no surprises and no meltdowns on the first couple of days (or weeks) of the new school year!
Go to important appointments
If your children need a doctor or dental appointment soon, go ahead and knock them out before school starts. This way, you don’t have to pull them out and their allotted sick days can actually go towards any seriously sick days (if they even need them). Metro Decatur Dental Group PC is a GA-based dentist that can help with pediatric dentistry, orthodontics, and wisdom teeth removal in Decatur GA, too. Metro Decatur Dental Group PC is dedicated to providing the most up-to-date general, orthodontic, and family dentistry. You can read more about the dentist, Dr. Gary Simms here.
Stock up on supplies
Whether you homeschool or send your child off to a private or public school, there’s a good chance they’ll need some supplies for when they head back to school. Many schools provide a list of everything your child will need and that makes it very easy to knock everything out at once. If they do not provide a list, make sure to stock up on pencils, erasers, markers and rulers, and any other important supplies that you can think of now so they are ready to go on day one.
Visit the school and/or classroom
Before the first day, some teachers invite families to visit ahead of time. If not, take a trip to the school to see the building and the playground. You might also consider inviting the teacher to come to your house if that is even possible. If your child is new to the school, this is a really important step to making sure that they feel comfortable and ready to take on the school year.
Try to meet up with school friends
Again – if your child is new to the school, or starting out in K, you might want to try to introduce them to a few of the kids in their upcoming class. A lot of teachers send out the parent contact list ahead of time, so if they do, take that opportunity to set up some playdate(s) for your kids.
Soak up the last few weeks of summer
Most importantly, make sure you are taking advantage of these last few weeks of summer. Remember: you only get about 18 summers with your children before they head off to college, so really make the most of them. I know that summers can be stressful, but the more fun you have, the more connected you will feel with your children.
Sponsored by Metro Decatur Dental Group
