Mom’s Back to School Guide

I don’t know about you, but it seems that every year I’m always in such a rush getting everything together for the first day of school. Between embracing the last days of summer with the kids at home, and readying myself for the upcoming mayhem, there always seems to be something I miss. To miss as little as possible remember this one word: ORGANIZE! When the whole family is organized and ready to go, back to school is a whole lot easier.

As summer draws to a close and routine begins to take shape (thank goodness for routine!), here’s a checklist of everything I go through before sending the kiddies off to school:

• Schedule a check-up at the doctor, ensure immunizations are up-to-date
• Make an appointment for haircuts
• Register the kids in after school activities
• Sort through kid’s clothes
  • Donate or hand down what doesn’t fit
  • Make a list of what they need – indoor shoes, gym clothes, every day clothes, etc.
• Purchase backpacks and lunchboxes as necessary
• Make sure kids are on a proper sleep schedules, no more late nights!
• Create grocery lists and meal plans with family favourite snack and meal ingredients
  • Sandwich ingredients (Bread, Deli, Cheese)
  • Fruit/Veggies
  • Snacks – peanut-free, of course!
  • Drinks
  • Pack the first-day-of-school lunch the night before
• Make sure my camera is charged and ready for the first day of school
• Supplies shopping (dig out the list that the school gave us at the end of the previous year):
  • Plastic bags and containers
  • Water bottles
  • Pencil box
    • Rulers, scissors, pencil sharpeners, glue sticks
• Facial tissues
• Let the kids choose what they want to wear the first day of school and lay out clothes the night before
• Set alarm clocks
• Plan a special breakfast for the first day, with the kids’ input

After the lists, upon lists, upon lists, the thing that gets me through is having a nice home cooked meal (or bbq) with my family. I love to hear all about their first day back at school!
But most importantly, don’t forget to take some time just for you at the end of the day. A warm bath works wonders!

Author: Jennifer Morse, Maple Lodge Farms Contributor