3 Tips To Help Your Transition Back To School

Transitioning out of summer and back to school is hard.  I know first hand.

This is my daughter’s first week back to school and I know many moms out there like me might feel like pulling their hair out trying to get everything ready to go. This year is a  particularly big transition because my daughter is now leaving elementary school, and heading into middle school (GULP!). New school, all new people, and a totally new school schedule.  So, it’s a lot of change for us.

Side note: waking up an hour earlier. Yeah, that’s just not good for anybody. But that’s one of those things we’re just going to have to learn to deal with in our house! 

Let’s jump into 3 tips I have for you today:

Tip #1

Create a weekly plan for the first week of school.  If you’ve never done weekly planning, don’t overthink it.  Make sure your weekly plan is capturing all of the known “obligations” you have on your calendar for that first week.  Include drive times, activities, homework, and mealtimes.  

I encourage you to actually use a weekly planner. If you are looking for one, my TOP Planning System is exactly what you need.  You can grab it by CLICKING HERE. You’ll also get digital courses from me teaching you how to use it and how to start weekly planning.

Tip #2

Now is not the time to say “yes” to every offer that comes your way. You want to keep as much of that first week open as much as possible when you are adjusting to a whole new schedule.  

I blocked off as much time as I could for the week in the mornings, afternoons, and evenings, just to make sure that we weren't scrambling with any gotchas or unknowns. The very first day carpool took me forty-five minutes to get through to pick up my daughter. If I had scheduled something for right after school, we never would have made it.

Tip #3

You have to share and communicate the game plan with the whole family.  A great option is a weekly post-it note layout or a weekly dry erase board. On this, we capture the schedule that impacts the family so everyone can see what is going on.  I put this on the side of the fridge next to the coffee maker and snacks so I know my family can see it. 

Do they still ask me over and over again what we're doing today? Of course, they do. I'm not a miracle worker, but at least I can tell them where to go to get the information. 

Keep in mind that it will take a few weeks for your family to adjust to the new routine and schedule!  Give yourself grace!

In my latest podcast episode, I go over this in more detail and also add a few other tips. You can check that out here. And if you have any back-to-school tips that you would love to share, please add them below! Feel free to share this blog post with your community that is launching into back to school!

Follow me on Facebook and Instagram at Megan Sumrell or go to megansumrell.com for getting on top of all things, time management, organization, and productivity. Need a little more help? Read my blog post Three Things You Need to Stick to a Plan.