Back to School, Back to School

Back to school, back to school.

After an enjoyable summer, you’ve likely already seen your kids off on their first day of school, as they embark on a new year, with new teachers, friends, and assignments. You’ve already done the back-to-school shopping, assisted in the first homework assignments, and endured the slow-as-molasses pace of the carpool line.

While this is a new year of opportunity for your kids, the new school year also means something to you. It means looking at algebraic equations you haven’t thought of in decades and sharing in the frustrations of re-memorizing things like state capitals, scientific processes and vocabulary words you’ve never even heard of. It means late nights with index cards, last-minute science projects, and tears from one or both parties. The new school year means watching your children change, grow and mature, as they continue the journey to knowing who they are and becoming individuals.

New school years can be exciting and scary and inspiring and frustrating, all at the same time, and more often than not, they are bittersweet, moving too quickly, making way for the next new school year.

As you start the 2019-2020 school year with your children, here are a few ways to make it as easy and enjoyable as possible:

Have a morning routine. 

You’re a parent, but you’re also a human. Getting ourselves to work on time can be a struggle, and getting the entire family up on time? Well, let’s not even go there. Set hard deadlines for your morning routine. Set a time for when your alarm will go off, for when you’ll be eating breakfast, and for when you’ll be out the door. And stick to these deadlines. Whether you’re waking your children up or beginning to teach them independence in the morning, it’s important to have a strict morning routine. Having organization and a routine at home can be incredibly beneficial for everyone! Besides, if one person’s late, everyone’s late.

Bring the learning home.

While your children’s teachers are teaching them lessons in school, they can also continue their learning at home, in addition to their homework. For instance, find ways to incorporate reading, writing, and mathematics into daily activities. Baking a cake? That’s a great opportunity to practice measurements! Writing “Thank You” notes? What a great time to practice grammar, punctuation and cursive writing!

Ask questions.

This is especially true for parents of middle schoolers, but it can seem impossible to hear a longer response about your child’s day than “It was fine“. Keep yourself as informed as possible about how your child is doing in school, academically as well as socially.

Enjoy it!

Our children grow up too quickly! Enjoy each school year as much as possible because, before you know it, the year will be over, and a new one will be beginning.