Back to School - Getting Ready
It is time for a new school year. With Summer winding down, many of here at Effort Rentals are getting our kids and ourselves ready! Buying notebooks and scoping out sales is the easy part. There are many other things that you can do as well to help make the transition from summer to school a little easier:
Here are a few ways you can help your child -- and yourself -- get ready to go back to school.
Re-Establish School Routines
Use the last few weeks of summer to get into a school-day rhythm. Start having your child get up at the time you will need them to so that they can get ready for their day. Slowly move bedtimes and wakeup times back to what they should be during the school year. You can do this gradually over one or two weeks. If meal times or other regular routines have changed over the summer vacation, reset those as well.
It’s also important to get your child used to leaving the house in the morning, so plan morning activities outside the house in the week or two before school. That can be a challenge for working parent but when the school rush comes, hustling your child out the door will be less painful if they have broken summer habits like relaxing in their PJs after breakfast.
Set Up a Time and Place for Homework
Head off daily battles by making homework part of your child’s everyday routine. Establish a time and a place for studying at home. Even if it’s the kitchen table, it really helps if kids know that’s where they sit down and do homework, and that it happens at the same time every day. As much as possible, plan to make yourself available during homework time, especially with younger kids. You might be reading the paper or cooking dinner, but be around to check in on your child’s progress.
Plan Lunches
It's important that a student has a healthy and tasty lunch packed when they go to school. That way, they won't eat cafeteria food or things from vending machines; those are high in calories and low in nutrition. If you're a student, work out a healthy meal plan for yourself, or if you're the parent, make sure you pack nutritious things for your children.