Getting Ready for the First Day of School
Your first day of school! How exciting. This month it is important to work with your budding student to get them ready for the big day. Every child is different, so you need to focus on what is best for your child.
The first day of school. How will your family's schedule change? Click To Tweet
Will they adapt will to getting up early, getting dress and being out the door? A new morning routine should start a few weeks before the beginning of school, so that it will be one less new thing to conquer.
Do they know where they are going? Visiting the school and classroom, if possible, before the first official day will help ease the nerves of most little ones. Hopefully, you’ll be able to meet the teachers, walk the halls, check out the play ground and the cafeteria.
Discuss their new schedule with them. Will they go to a before or after school program? Where will they be picked up and dropped off? By who?
How will your family’s evening schedule change? Do you need to set aside time for homework? Will bed time change? What should you do to prepare for the next day? This takes work from all involved. Read more on Back to School Time Management.
You will have the most success if you have a plan and begin implementing it before the big day.
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Janet Schiesl
Janet has been organizing since 2005. She is a Certified Professional Organizer and the owner of Basic Organization.
She loves using her background as a space planner to challenge her clients to look at their space differently. She leads the team in large projects and works one-on-one with clients to help the process move quickly and comfortably. Call her crazy, but she loves to work with paper, to purge what is not needed and to create filing systems that work for each individual client.
Janet is a Past Board Member of the National Association of Productivity and Organizing Professionals and a Past President of the Washington DC Chapter of NAPO were she has been named Organizer of the Year and Volunteer of the Year.
Janet Schiesl
Janet has been organizing since 2005. She is a Certified Professional Organizer and the owner of Basic Organization.
She loves using her background as a space planner to challenge her clients to look at their space differently. She leads the team in large projects and works one-on-one with clients to help the process move quickly and comfortably. Call her crazy, but she loves to work with paper, to purge what is not needed and to create filing systems that work for each individual client.
Janet is a Past Board Member of the National Association of Productivity and Organizing Professionals and a Past President of the Washington DC Chapter of NAPO were she has been named Organizer of the Year and Volunteer of the Year.
Hi there! This is my 1st comment here so I just wanted
to give a quick shout out and tell you I truly enjoy reading through your posts.
Can you recommend any other blogs/websites/forums that cover the same subjects?
Thank you!
Thanks for posting. I love to read The Organizing Boutique.
I can’t believe it is time for school already. I think the schools in my town don’t begin until later in the week, but it is absolutely crazy to me that I don’t know this for sure anymore. I used to love the first day of school… the big send-off, the new backpack, the new outfit, and a special cake to have after dinner (with a new theme each year). Now my children are older, but actually both in graduate school, so I am sending “virtual hugs” for the first day. I agree with all of this advice, and this year it is particularly important to communicate clearly about the schedule. In our town, they are doing a blend of in-person and remote learning, by letter of the alphabet, so it can get confusing fast!
I also am happy that my kids are grown and I don’t have to go through this unusually situation. I have wondered if students are getting that new backpack and outfit. Our school system is all online, so there’s not much celebration to that.
I would prep my children a week before school started. It worked well for them. They got into the habit of getting up earlier and getting clothes together for the next day the night before. Thanks for sharing these tips. I’m definitely sharing them on social media.
Thanks Sabrina. I used to do the same and start a week or so before the start of school, getting the kids up early and to bed early. I wonder if people are doing this again this year.
The start of the school year is so different this year. When our girls were growing up, it was such a fun ritual working with them to get set with their school supplies, lunch boxes, backpacks, clothing. They also used to like stopping in before the first day of school to say “hi” or help their teachers prep their rooms. The pandemic has created so much havoc and anxiety for returning students of all ages. Parents, teachers, and administrators are also having a rough time. We’re in New York. The NYC teachers are considering going on strike because they don’t feel the schools have adequately prepared. They have an official start date yet either.
The bottom line, as you so beautifully encouraged, is to prepare to the best of your ability. Things might need to shift, but certain things can be put in place to help alleviate extra stress.
Yes. I agree. Do the work to be prepared and then you can adapt if you have to. Our school system is all online and starts next week, but other counties near us started today and it didn’t go too smoothly. I do feel sorry for the teachers and the students.
With families being so much more involved in their children’s studies this year, a plan and solid schedule is necessary. This will be a learning experience for everyone but I’m encouraged that new and better systems will develop from this! Great post.
Thanks Melanie. I am hopeful that people put time into planning a system to work with online learning.
I don’t have tiny humans, but I remember my mom walking me through how every step of the first day of school would work. (Unfortunately, she told me the bus would drop me off in front of our house and not to get off until it stopped there…and she didn’t know that our community only stopped the bus at corners and fire hydrants, so I and my two kindergarten seat-mates stayed on the bus all the way back to the bus garage. We were so tiny, the driver couldn’t see us!) Bus-stuff aside, going over all of the details with kids in advance really provides confidence. I can’t imagine how kids attending virtually (or parents of kids who are attending in person) are dealing with the stresses of 2020, but you’re absolutely right about the importance of planning in advance.
Oh Julie. what a story. Your mother must have been frantic! Hope you both laugh about it now.
I agree that this year has upended all thoughts of regular planning and preparations. Parents, students and teachers are just doing the best they can. As school systems are starting I’m hear of all types of troubles. I think the word for this school needs to be “flexibility”.