An important part of getting ready to go back to school won’t show up in advertisements because it doesn’t require you to buy anything. It is very important to begin organizing your daily routine for the shift from summer to school.

The more established your routine is, the less hectic each day will be.  Here are some elements of a good routine:

• If bedtime and wakeup time has shifted during the summer, start moving it back to the school year norm now. It’s easier to handle small shifts over time instead of an hour (or more) shift all at once.
• Have an established place to put everything that needs to go to and from school (backpack, books, gym clothes, galoshes, lunch boxes, etc.).  One way to do this is to have a different color plastic bin for each child to store these things. It will keep things organized and neat, minimize the chance of loss, and limit the early morning hide and seek games.
• Keep one master family calendar in a visible place (a family website is fine). Whenever event announcements come home from school, put them on the calendar, then toss the paper in recycling.
• Develop activity lists for after school, bedtime, and wake up.  An after school routine might include a snack, sharing important papers from school, talking about what happened at school and what homework is due, cleaning the backpack, etc.  A bedtime routine might include baths, making lunches, setting the table for breakfast, setting out clothes, and story time.  Wake up routines should be very simple — dressing, breakfast, toothbrushing, leaving.  Always strive to complete each task at the earliest opportunity.
• Have a dedicated study place.  It should be away from distractions like TV, but close enough so that kids can ask for help.  It needs good light and space to spread out books and papers.  Writing utensils, erasers, (paper, dictionaries, etc.) should be close to hand.