When it comes to going back to school, I cannot stress enough the importance of developing a routine. The more established your routine is, the less hectic each day will be. Here are some elements of a good routine:

• 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 scavenger hunts. (I love me a good scavenger hunt, but not in the pre-dawn hours while trying to get a kid to the bus.)
• Keep one master family calendar in a visible place (a family website is fine if you're techie). Whenever event announcements come home from school, put them on the calendar immediately, then toss the paper in recycling.
• Develop activity lists and patterns for after school, bedtime, and wake up. An after school routine might include a healthy 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, brushing teeth, 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.

What parts of your routine work best?