10 Top Tips for making ‘back to school’ easy!

That moment when it’s time to start the uniform shopping and start getting back into your ‘normal routine’ of alarm clocks and pre-making lunches can be daunting for parents and children alike, so here are my 10 top tips to making the transition from ‘holiday mode’ to ‘back to school’ super easy!

1. Make a transition booklet– this can include pictures from your school holidays to share with friends, pictures of your upcoming new teacher or classroom, a timetable of your upcoming routine or anything you can think of to prepare your little one (and yourself!) for the upcoming term. Use this to talk to your child about their feelings with starting school and how to share and solve their worries.

2. Practice dressing– The school holidays are a great time to encourage your child to practice with putting on their uniforms! It will make your mornings a lot easier in the long run! Make it fun and don’t worry if they don’t get it first time! Have dressing races, make a ‘time trial’ game and just enjoy it. Making a game of dressing can avoid pressure on your kids which ends in your child still not being ready when it’s time to go out the door!

3. Preparation– I can’t emphasise enough how much preparing things the night before makes my life a lot easier. Pre-make lunches, lay out the uniform and have a ‘go-to’ place that your child knows about so they can access their own bags and equipment. It does wonders for their independence also!

4.Travelling – This is especially important for children who are just going into secondary school or starting a new school. Practising the route that you will take to school can alleviate a lot of anxiety that lots of kids (of all ages) can feel when visiting a new school. Maybe you’ll be taking the bus, walking or cycling?

5.Batch cooking– If you haven’t heard of this, where have you been? Batch cooking is pre-preparing meals and then storing them (in the fridge or freezer), which saves you time and money! You could make lunch muffins, lasagnes, sandwiches, cereal bars and so much more! I understand that some parents may not have a lot of time to do this but making just one extra portion when cooking family meals can mean that dinners after school are a lot simpler.

6. Toileting– Obviously this one would be more for the younger years! Getting your child trained for school may be daunting and you’ll find yourself packing their whole wardrobes in fear of them coming home with belongings from lost property. But practising during the summer holidays is crucial to prepare your child for school. Try not to pressure your child but using songs, books and stories to encourage and remind your child to go. You’ll soon be doing that victory dance (we all do it!) when your little one has it nailed!

7. Rise and shine!– Setting that alarm for ‘back to school’ can be rough. I, personally, prefer to start doing this at least a week in advance. It then prepares me and my little one for the upcoming academic year.

8. Uniform– Buying uniform can be an expensively gruelling task, only to find that on your first day back your child has outgrown their trousers or their shoes are pinching their toes….Disaster! Trying to leave it till the last 2 weeks or so can be helpful with sizing but feels very last minute. I like to stock up on ‘growing into it’ shirts and trousers when i see a good offer. Saving on time and pennies!

9. Include your child– As the ‘stars of the show’ for going back to school, i feel including your kids in process for choosing new shoes, choosing stationary and preparing timetables, and the like, super helpful for making them feel included in all aspects of the transition back to school.

10. Social media– Social media and technology is becoming more and more evident in today’s society. So why not use it to your advantage? Most schools have their own private Facebook pages where they post regularly. I find these pages so useful for getting to know other mum’s in my child’s year and arranging play dates with the children that will be in your child’s class. Encourage positive play and healthy, happy friendships (which can be challenging for any child, let alone a child with SEN).