After the long leisurely summer months, many people dread the frenzy that fall brings. Our Back-to-School Transition Tips Part 1 listed some advice to help you ease back into a routine. Here are a few more ways to calm the chaos of the back-to-school transition.
Update Your Contacts and Social Media Feeds
Identify and confirm your emergency contacts. Ensure they will still be able to take the children in an urgent situation. Check that you have the school, doctor, dentist, etc. numbers stored in your address book whether that be on your smartphone or on paper. Include contact info for your children’s friends (or their parents).
Update your social media accounts and be sure to follow the school board, school, school bus, teachers. If there is an app to tell you about weather-related (or other) cancellations, download it. Many school boards have online calendars you can subscribe to that provide all sorts of events that go on at the school.
Coordinate Transport Schedules
Communicate with other parents and start coordinating pick-up and drop-off children at various year-round events. Make decisions about who will “play taxi” and when. Also, make contingency plans in case the assigned parent is unable to meet their commitment on a certain day.
Review the Emergency Plans
Ensure the children, school, and any after-school activity coordinators know who to call in the event that the assigned pick-up person does not arrive. If there are special code words or procedures that need to be followed to collect the children in case of emergencies, review them with the kids.
Prepare for Paperwork
Every year schools require information such as health card numbers, vaccination schedules, emergency contact numbers, etc. If you know where all this information is, you’ll be able to fill out all those forms quickly and easily. Once filled out, make a copy of the paperwork for yourself. It will be easier to find the information for next year and make updates as it changes.
Adjust the Routines and Sleep Schedules
Give your children some practice getting up and going to sleep earlier, at least a week or two before the school year starts. Practice getting out the door in the morning to be on time for school but make it fun by going to the park or a museum instead. This way, you will know where the challenges are and are able to fix them by the time school starts.
Create Command Central
Designate a central location in the house for all-things school-related. It could be a corner of the living room, a specific kitchen counter or a table in the entryway. In this area, keep all school flyers, papers requiring parent signatures, transportation schedules, etc.
You could keep a dry-erase calendar here as well showing everyone’s schedules. Posting a checklist will help children remember what they have to do and what they are responsible for. You can also post a list of everything they should have in their backpack before they leave for school.
If you need help with back-to-school organizing, Out of Chaos can provide customized services to suit your needs. Simply send us an inquiry through our website or contact me at 604-813-8189.
Image by Stefan Schweihofer from Pixabay
