This is sponsored content by BlogHer and Kellogg’s.
It always starts around mid-July. Always. And it seems like there’s nothing I can do to shake it.
Nothing.
Now contrary to what you might think, I’m actually not talking about Alabama’s stifling summer humidity, though that definitely kicks in full-force in July and makes me long to live atop an ice block on a planet called Cold.
But the real reason for my summertime apprehension is that mid-July brings on the first feelings of dread about our back-to-school schedule. Granted, in mid-July the prospect of having to wake up early is more than a month away, but please understand that one of my most favorite pastimes is to obsess about things over which I have no control. It’s sort of like a hobby, only without any of the fun or tangible rewards.
Despite my fretting, I’m usually pleasantly surprised by how easily we transition back into our school schedule. We try to gradually work our way back to a school night bedtime over the course of a week or so, and by the time school starts, we’re typically in a pretty good place.
I wish I’d known to dial back the bedtime gradually when I was in high school, because back then my idea of transitioning into a school schedule was to go to bed five hours earlier than normal the night before school started and then toss and turn while I wondered, WHY, WHY CAN’T I SLEEP, WHY, I DON’T UNDERSTAND.
In addition to our sleep adjustments, we do something else to make the back-to-school transition fun: SPECIAL TRADITIONS. That means that the back-to-school breakfast is absolutely and totally our little boy’s choice – whether that be grits or bacon or a favorite cereal or a peanut butter sandwich. It also means that when the first day of school is over, we’re going to meet some of our favorite friends and do something fun to celebrate.
This year it was a trip to a local yogurt place. And the kids had a blast.
In fact, by the time we got home that day, I was ready to wake up early all over again. As much as I dread being tied to a schedule during the summer, the predictability of our days becomes sort of oddly comforting once it’s school time again.
So what about you? What’s something fun you do to help your little one(s) get back in the swing of a school schedule? Leave a comment with your answer, and you’ll be entered to win a $100 Visa gift card (and come back next week to enter again – because these giveaways will continue for the next 6 weeks).
And be sure to visit the BlogHer.com Kellogg exclusive offers page – you have 24 other chances to win $100 every single week that this program is running!
Mom’s Breakfast Club was started to help educate moms and families about kids’ cereal and share the scoop on their nutritional benefits and ingredients. To learn more about the program, visit www.loveyourcereal.com.
This giveaway is now closed.
I only have an older child–so I don’t have any tricks! When my son was younger, I just tried to be quiet in the morning to keep distractions to a minimum…
kmassman gmail
We have to start early to get tubby time done and books read and eyes shut. He keep looking out the window because the sun is still up and he thinks that means it’s still playtime!!!
My daughter isn’t in school yet sooooooo—-a food always found on our breakfast table is scrambled eggs!
One thing I do fun with my daughter to get back into the swing of school’s schedule is we adopt the normal school bedtime and waketime schedule about a week before school starts. Instead of school work, we have a fun week. We do crafts, go to the library, the movies, watch a DVD…anything she wants!
bleatham*at*gmail.com
Although my 9-month old isn’t in real school yet — only daycare, we’re pretty much staying in the same schedule year-round. However, when he does start school, I think our key to getting back in the swing of things will be to start a week or so before and work on earlier bedtimes, earlier waketimes, and then have a big breakfast and fun snack after the first day. Kind of like returning to work after having a baby. LOL.
Buying the school supplies, new bookbag, etc.
Our kids liked school so that made it easier to transition. We made sure bedtimes were in place. We always did everything we could the night before; lunches made, homework done and checked, clothes for next day laid out, etc so there is no rushing in the morning
We lay out our favorite outfits. Pack up our backpacks and sign all papers that need signing. We go to bed a little earlier and get up way too early.
We also take along fast stuff to eat in the car.
Wake up before the crew – get stuff done and then everything just goes so much more smoother.
When I was little,we’d always take a special pre-school trip to the carousel. I’ve graduated now but I’d love to go there again just for the fun of it! :)
This is my daughter’s first year of school, but getting into a routine after the long and lazy days of Summer can be tough! This year we managed to start the school time sleep schedule a little earlier in the Summer, lay out clothes ahead of time, pack lunches ahead of time, etc. I try to stay on top of everything so we can run smoothly. :)
My children are now finished with school so I don’t have to worry about this any more but when they were in school I tried to do as much as possible the night before, and encouraged them to do the same. I packed their lunches the night before, they picked out their clothes the night before, and usually even showered the night before. My kids have never been big on breakfast foods so I would try to pack a little extra in their lunches to make up for that. I also loved that we had a DVR so that I could encourage them to record their favorite programs that came on later in the evenings so they didn’t feel the need to stay up and watch them and would go to bed a little earlier.
We let the kids choose whatever restaurant they want to eat at after the first day of school. They used to pick Chick-Fil-A or McDonald’s, but this year they decided on The Cheesecake Factory. Yikes! Oh well, it was fun, and they are already trying to decide where to go next year! :)
My sons are all grown up now but when they were home and in school…I always got up before they did and helped them as much as needed. The night before we made sure the backpacks were all ready and by the door to go. I use to try to have them pick out their clothes…but that didn’t work…and like me they’d change their minds in the morning…lol When their alarms went off, I go up to their rooms and make sure they heard it and stayed until they got out of be and into the shower. Nights were always too busy for baths/showers and like me my boys liked the refreshed feelings that had when showering in the morning. They would always want cereal for breakfast…big bowls of it. While they ate I would pack their lunches to make sure they got healthy “brain” foods to last throughout their day. After school was the same, I’d have a great snack ready for them to have before they started in on homework. Neither of my boys participated in a lot of extra curricular activities because school was the most important thing.
Nothing nearly so fun, but I do switch over the pictures on our “visual calendar” (as opposed to all those audio calendars, haha)–just pictures on our kitchen wall under the various days to depict when is school or speech or the weekend. I never really changed them out for summer, but the pics had been of his old preschool and on the wrong days, so it was good to change them out for our new schedule.
We start adjusting bedtime about a week before school. The first day of school we take the obligatory “first day picture.”
I too dread the school schedule but it always seems to get us in a nice routine before we know it. I just try to get up early so I’m on top of things!
Well, since Annie is only 2, I’m the only school that she’s got, so I have to get her excited for a big day with yours truly. Whatever I make for her, I like to incorporate raisins (or, as she calls them “way-mee!!!”) into breakfast. It makes her day.
Something fun we do before school starts is to go school supply shopping together. The kids love bringing their new stuff home and packing it all up in their new backpacks.
I love to leave fun notes in their lunch box!
well, my little one is not in school yet – but I can imagine that laying out all of her clothes and making sure a good breakfast is ready will be part of our routine next year.
The back to school routine has to include getting some ice crea m or frozen yogurt. Gotta celebrate the little things!
Picking out a super-cute first-day-of-school outfit is a must! Also the trip to the Krogers to pick out lunch-making supplies!
We do Count-Back-To-School-Week and cross out days till school start on our calendar and do different nice things each day of this week.
kids start to go to bed earlier appr. one week before school days.
Going out and getting new school supplies has always been a fun way to welcome the school year for us!
Tara
giveawayblogs at gmail dot com
We homeschool, but the 1st day back to a school routine is always a big deal. The kids pick breakfast and are always up early that first day!
I’ve been talking to my son every morning on how we act at school. I think it is working!
annemolino at hotmail dot com
We homeschool, so I try to make something special for breakfast on the first day. In the past, it’s been pancakes, but this year they asked for orange julius. Frankly, that was a lot easier than pancakes!
I just try to be as prepared as I possibly can before the first day of school. I load up all the supplies, snacks, forms, etc that I need to take to school on the first day in car the night before to be sure we don’t forget anything.
we had a fancy (china, crystal, etc) back to school dinner. at the end, we set goals for the year and prayed for our teachers. it was great–the kids want to do it every year now.
My little one is 16 now, and about 5 inches taller than my 5’10”! I always always take the day off of work on the first and last days of school, even now & Take DS out for breakfast to his favorite restaurant, a ‘greasy spoon’ place the size of a postage stamp. I spend the day relaxing from a busy summer (or gearing up for one…), then pick him up from school. Dinner that night is his choice :)
They get to chose a special breakfast to get them excited.
Something fun? I always let the kids pick their favorite thing for breakfast, and I’ll make TWO SEPARATE breakfasts for them. It takes up a good chunk of time, but they always bound out of bed with excitement!!!! :-)
I am a single mother and my children’s Christian School has a Summer Day Camp. So we get up the same time year round. I do let them stay up a little later while they are in Summer Care if there is a special movie or something on TV they are interested in, but I try to stick to their bedtime for the most part. My son does not deal well with change, and my daughter does not like to get up not matter what time she went to bed.
However, on the first day of school I always let them pick a place to eat out just with them and mommy as a special time.
We start trying to move our going to bed time up 15 minutes or so every couple of nights until we are back on track with the school schedule.
On the first day of school, I always write a note to my sons and tuck it into their lunchboxes. I also bake something special to include as a treat during the first week of school. :)
I don’t have kids but I plan to always have a few extra minutes for a game in the AM when I do have them.
We always reward our boys with treats to the local ice cream parlor to celebrate the first day of school. And no school lunch is complete without little love notes and/or jokes from Mom to get them through the second half of the day!
We homeschool, so we start out the school year with a fun party. Then we add subjects gradually, so it takes 2 weeks to get up to full speed.
Blissfully there are no longer school-aged kids in our household, so back-to-school is a moot point!! That being said, I am soooo not a morning person and attempt to squeeze every possible drop of sleep out of the morning before beginning the workday.
No kids here, but my mom always made sure that i had picked out my clothes the night before. That led to less headaches in the morning, I’m sure!
Your kids are such a cutie! We get the kids back into the swing of things by getting them up earlier and starting out with earlier bedtimes, plus we keep easy breakfast foods on hand for easier morning, like cereal, fruit, and yogurt.
We usually go out for pizza after the first day back. It’s a fun way to celebrate.
Key with a family of 9 is organization and planning. Menus planned ahead. Everyone has their responsibilties. I don’t use tricks
We usually do a pajama day on the first day of summer, and the last day of summer. The routine change is immediate since Mommy gets her up all summer and Daddy gets her up (I have already left for work) all school year. So she knew it was a new routine just from that! And we always have her bag of stuff to go to daycare right by the door to help in the morning.
We started the routine and schedule at least a week before school started. And for the first day of school, we celebrate by taking pictures, ice cream/pizza treats after school.
Get lots of sleep the night before and have cereal in the mornings since it’s easy to prepare.
evil_eva12 at hotmail dot com
We’re all business at our house. My husband and I divide and conquer. He gets the boys breakfast. I get their teeth brushed and dressed. He packs the lunches. I pack the backpacks. I leave for work. He takes them to the bus. He leaves for work. Clockwork.
We get everything ready the night before, and we spend the first few minutes of our morning cuddling on the couch. It helps the kids wake up and remember they are loved.
we just started school this year, but everynight before school we talk about all the possible fun things he’ll do the next day and then when he gets home..he tells me what he did
nannypanpan at sbcglobal.net
We don’t have children yet, but packing lunches the night before and keeping breakfast simple is our strategy for a fun and simple school year!
~eunice b
tigergal01 @gmail .com
http://twitter.com/tigergal01/status/24860044320
tweet~
eunice b
tigergal01 @gmail .com
Buying school clothes and supplies.
We have on the wall what they need to do (pictures and text). When they have completed a chore, they check it off…stickers make it really fun.
leahforlove(at)aol(dot)com
I make sure they get a good warm breakfast and a glass of juice and then off they go!
gmissycat@yahoo.com
We get the backpacks packed the night before and the mornings we eat quick foods like cereal, bagels and bacon. My kids are older so they get up on their own.
My kids are too young for school, but we have activities like dance and gymnastics that we don’t have in summer. I like to take the kids to the pool or beach one last time before our schedules get hectic and it gets too cool to swim.
encourage them to play with classmates :D and board games.
sonbgyueyu at gmail
i tweeted:http://twitter.com/syytta/status/24912351321
We start going to bed an hour earlier a week before school starts.
Tweeted
http://twitter.com/jillyrh/status/24916111171
Thanks so much!
It’s a lot of coaxing!
My “baby” is 15, so she’s able to get herself ready in the morning (w/ prodding of course!). I try to make her mornings enjoyable by having breakfast options she enjoyed as a toddler – like dino egg oatmeal. It starts her day of giggling :)
My routine stays the same, I just have to complete it earlier before the kids get up for school. I am a morning person and I can get more done in the morning before the rest of the family is awake, than I can in the evening. I do laundry, do the dishes and even make trips to the grocery store at 6am. It is just easier to get stuff done in a timely and efficient manner without the rest of the family interrupting me.
My nieces are going back to school and are excited but I know the more strict schedule might get to them after a while lol. My brother and his wife make it easier by getting them fancy little calendars that they can decorate with stickers of their choosing to represent events they have or assignments that are due. Getting a good night’s sleep (by 8:30 the latest) and a high fiber cereal breakfast help the mornings go by easily. Also, really sticking to a schedule helps rather than summer vacation attitude :)
I am SOOOO lucky. My kids have always either been in year-round or modified calendar schools. So they go to school for a quarter, stay home for a few weeks, go back for a quarter, etc. So we have very few transitional problems. Yes, it’s hard to get up that early, but we basically have a school morning routine. Up at 6:21, out the door at 6:33.
On really sluggish days, I try to make a game out of getting ready. My kids are (fortunately or unfortunately!!) competitive and will jump at the chance to be the best or fastest.
http://twitter.com/tnshadylady/status/24962039376
Well I don’t have any little ones anymore, but to get me going on time I always shower and iron my clothes the night before. I also set out my cereal bowl and cereal or oatmeal and have the coffee set to be made when I get up.
http://twitter.com/fostertam/status/24965048486
Not so much fun but we start going to bed earlier about 2 weeks before school starts and waking up to the alarm clock in the morning to get us back into the swing of getting up early. It also helps to lay out clothes and find missing shoes the night before so there’s no panic search-and-destroy mission in the morning.
The first day of school, our tradition is to walk my daughter to school with the dog so they can say goodbye. It’s the only time we actually walk to school, normally I drive her or she gets a ride from friends.
My daughter LOVES organization so the more organized we make things, the more excited she is to wake up and get started. We do as much as possible the night before and I let her pick out her outfit from headband all the way down to which shoes, so long as she lays it all out the night before.
Unfortunately my “little ones” are now 21, 18, and 16, but we still enjoy going out to buy school supplies. We usually purchase a couple of extras or a souped up version of something they need just for fun, but it has most often proven to be a great time for all!
We prepare ahead of time. Regular Bedtimes are important. We set out their uniforms the night before, and have most of their lunch packed ahead of time.
I don’t think they consider that fun, though. Usually we do have an end of the summer outing the weekend before school starts.
pauleyd68 (at) yahoo (dot) com
Picking out the day’s clothes the night before makes a huge difference.
I let them choose their clothes in the morning!
We try to start going to be earlier and getting up earlier to make the transition easier.
No little ones at home. But once and awhile a little surprise is a good way to brighten a child’s day.
We have a ‘pretend tomorrow is school’ night & morning. Thanks for the contest.
Little surprise notes in their lunch boxes, sometimes a joke, sometimes just an I love you. Thanks for a great giveaway!
We do a movie night that culminates in them going to bed early a week before school starts to help them get in the swing of things.
Notes and checklists are our lifesavers!
And then we double check.
I let the kids decide what they want in their home lunch. They don’t always get to pick what they get for lunch, so their first day is one of the few days they get what they ask for (instead of what I can throw together quickly).
A week before school starts and let my daughter give me a homework assignment each day and then I let her grade it. I also let her rate my behavior for the day.
We’re pretty routine conscious all year but in the summertime bedtime creeps up an hour. We start getting them to bed by 8 at least a week before the big day.
I don’t have any kids, but when I’m having a tough time getting going I play some upbeat music :)
When my daughter was school aged she enjoyed helping “plan” her days – so I let her help pack her lunch the night before, and she set out her school supplies and clothes, etc.
My daughter started her junior year at high school. One thing that helped her was she started going to bed at an earlier time-about a week before school started.This helped the “transistion” a little easier..she also has her clothes picked out the night before.. she has scrambled eggs or cereal for breakfast.
I don’t have any kids, but my coffee and my Kellogg’s Corn Flakes get me going :0)