Summer comes to an end! For parents its the beginning of their child’s academic year. As exciting as it is, it can be stressful. Of course we don’t want everything to be done at the very last minute so we made a checklist to help us accomplish it all before the first day!

• Make sure your child is properly registered for school, particularly if he or she is going to a new school.

• Ensure that your child is finishing (and finishing well) any summer homework that has been assigned.

• Schedule  doctor and dental appointments before the school starts. Many kids need certain immunizations before school starts. For little ones it could be problems like cavities, new tooth etc. that needs attention as you most certainly don’t want them missing out on anything because of a toothache.

• Get any school supply checklists from your child’s school. (Many schools post them on their school websites.)
• Confirm any before and after school care that your child needs during the school year so that you don’t have any surprises on the first day of school.

• Plan some play dates for your child before school starts. Often kids get disconnected from their school friends during the summer because they don’t see them every day. Help them reconnect by inviting old school friends over to play.

• Schedule a haircut for your child if you haven’t already done so. Trust me your little ones will definitely feel more excited about going to school if they know their hair looks new too
• Visit your child’s school; find your child’s classroom. Look for the cafeteria, the bathroom, the gym, the outdoor playground, and the front office. Anxiety goes down when kids get the chance to walk around a school before it starts.
• Help kids clean up their rooms. Many become disasters over the summer. Now is the time to get them organized so that your child can easily find his or her clean clothes. My 5 year old actively helps me clean up her room, we change the layout of the room sometimes to keep things interesting.
• Store school supplies in an easy-to-locate place.

• Start changing your child’s sleep and eating schedules to match the school’s schedule. Most kids have gotten into a summer schedule where they sleep in late and eat breakfast and lunch at odd hours.
• Fill out all school paperwork. Parents often get flooded with forms from the school, either before school starts or right after it does.
• Create a route for getting to school. Even if your child rides a bus, get a copy of the bus schedule and follow it with your car. That way your child can see where the bus goes and where it stops. (Some kids get very anxious about their bus routes, particularly if they have to change buses or the bus stops at multiple schools.)
• Take your child grocery shopping. Together, find healthy foods for snacks and school lunches.

• Create a homework space. Find a place for your kids to do homework. If it’s a designated space for homework (such as a desk in their room), help them set it up with supplies. If it’s a shared space, create a folder, backpack, or box where they can keep track of their homework supplies.
• Set up a homework time now. Get kids in the habit of reading books during the homework time so that when school starts, they’re ready to start doing homework again.
• Get excited about school starting. When kids see that you value education, they’ll be more apt to value it as well.

Post your checklist on the fridge. That way its always infront of you and you won’t miss anything important. Make good use of sales (if any) and get everything ready!

Our little ones won’t be so little after a few years so let’s cherish the time when we can still get excited about their new class and first days! and yesss!!! Take lots of photos!!

Much love!

W & S!