Today we start our back to school series here at the blog. In most places, school will begin in the next month. (Apparently, it has already begin in some places!) If your kids haven’t started yet, today is a good time to take a look at their summer reading lists and other assignments to see where things stand.

If the kids did everything as soon as school ended or have been dong a little bit each week, things are likely ready for the beginning of the school year. But, there’s also a chance that the assignment was misplaced or forgotten or that procrastination has been the rule of the day.

In the latter cases, work must begin this week. Get the book. Start reading. Do the worksheet. Write the journal. Whatever was assigned, take some action. Often, just getting started is the hardest part. Take action today to find the book, order it, or get it from the library.

Then, set aside some time each day this week to make some progress. When will depend on your family schedule and preferences. maybe you want to do it first thing in the morning, when folks are fresh and before play. Maybe it’s something that can be completed while dinner is cooking or immediately after dinner. Whatever it is, get it on the schedule right now and make doing it each day’s priority.

If the summer assignments are done, go back to your hammock and ice cream. I’ll be back Wednesday with another back to school blog!

PS: Want to help a teacher? The average teacher spends $479 of her/his own money to provide classroom supplies. If you want to help out, search #clearthelist on Twitter. You’ll see posts from teachers with links to their Amazon wish lists. Just choose something off the list and send it along.