Back to school is a fun time with its new routines, crisp new school supplies, learning new subjects, and trying new activities. It’s hard to believe when we’re in the thick of summer that the beginning of a new year is just around the corner. Carefree days and late nights are a part of the appeal of summer. But soon enough, it will be over and a new school year will be starting back up again.
It can be very hard to go from freedom and flexibility to a schedule overnight. You don’t want to say, “Go to bed early tonight, school starts tomorrow!” I’ve always homeschooled my six kids but that doesn’t mean we don’t have a homeschool routine. In fact, it helps us stay on track and get more accomplished with less stress when we have a daily routine to keep things organized.
With my kids, I’ve always found it worked well to begin the transition to a new routine sooner so they had time to get used to it. And believe it or not, now is the time to begin working on your back to school routine. The start of a new school year will be here before we know it!
So, whether you’re homeschooling your kids or sending them off to school, these tips will help your family transition from summer into school again.
How to Smoothly Transition Back to School
Going from the unscheduled summer days to the more scheduled school year can be hard for anyone, especially kids. That’s why I like to begin easing my family into a routine around late July. This gives us a few weeks to get ready and back into the routine. But if you can’t start in late July, don’t fret! Getting organized with a routine helps any time of the year.
These tips are ones that work well in my house as we make the transition. There are a lot of routines to create, but kids actually need (and crave) structure so they know what to expect.
Don’t forget to involve the kids as you plan out your daily routines! My kids have been known to have family meetings and work out daily chore routines, amongst other things. All of my kids know how to cook so they can contribute to the family meals. As parents, we’re ultimately in charge of our home atmosphere. But I’ve found the kids also have good ideas to contribute to our schedule too.
Create a Morning Routine
After a summer of lazy mornings, a school morning routine can seem daunting. But if you have one outlined for school time, you’ll be able to make a much smoother transition. It will help make the mornings a little more stress-free (of course they’ll never be completely stress-free!).
Start by figuring out what time you need to get everyone to school or start on their day. Then work backward to decide what time they need to wake up. Kids in middle school and high school can sleep later if their school starts later. But younger kids usually need to get up earlier and get going.
For an easy school morning routine for younger kids, create a printable checklist of all the things they need to do. Include things like brush teeth, brush hair, eat breakfast, get dressed, and help make lunch.
And don’t forget about your own morning routine! I highly suggest getting up 30-45 minutes before your kids do so you have some time to yourself to either ease into your day or get a few things accomplished. The older kids and I get up at sunrise to get morning sunlight and set our circadian rhythms for the day. I never thought I could get up that early, but I love the peaceful mornings!
If your family’s been sleeping in during the summer, start the transition to an earlier wake time a few weeks before school starts. Wake up 15 minutes earlier every few days until you hit your target time. This works well for adjusting bedtime too (see nighttime routine section).
Decide on an After School Routine
After school can be a great time to reconnect with your kids and hear all about their school day. But it’s helpful to have an after school routine to keep things organized, especially if your kids are involved in extracurricular activities and free time is tight.
At the end of the school day, offer a healthy snack with some time to talk about their day and catch up in a stress-free way. You can also help teach them responsibility by having them unpack their backpack or lunchboxes and clean up their workspace (if they’re homeschooled).
If your kids have homework, after school is a good time to schedule homework time. Another thing I like to include in our after-school schedule is unstructured free time or playtime (outside is great if they can!). If your kids are a little older, you can help them learn time management. Give them some guidelines for what they need to accomplish before their extracurricular activities and allow them to decide what they do and when.
Build a Bedtime Routine
A night routine is almost as important as a morning routine for young children. This is a great time to get a jumpstart on everything they’ll need for the next day. Do any meal prep for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Have them pick out their clothes. If they participate in after-school activities or sports, make sure all of their clothing and equipment are together. Have them put their shoes and backpacks by the front door so they know where everything is when it’s time to go.
As a part of the night routine, you’ll also want to create screen time rules to help them develop a healthy relationship with technology (if they’re watching screens). Bathtime is a great self-care piece to incorporate into your bedtime routine. Storytime is a perfect way to wind down for the night. Readers can spend time reading to a family member to practice.
Have your kids been staying up later over the summer? Mine often do, so when it’s time to get back into the habit of going to bed earlier, I start a few weeks early. Every few days, I’ll put them to bed 15 minutes earlier. By the time the new school year starts, they’ll be used to going to bed at their normal time.
Plan Your Meals
Time is a little more crunched during the school year, especially if your kids are involved in extracurricular activities. With several kids in sports, my afternoons are often spent driving to different track meets! I like to plan ahead for our meals to make sure everyone’s eating healthy and we aren’t scrambling at the last minute. I also stock my kitchen with real food because cooking and eating at home are a priority for us.
Family meals are very important, but it can be hard to have them every night. I like to make sure that we all eat breakfast together (as well as dinner). I offer several breakfast options for the kids so they have a chance to choose. And there’s always protein at every meal since it’s so important to maintain energy levels. If you have older kids, work together to plan lunches that they’ll eat (without the processed foods). Even if you homeschool, it’s great to have lunches planned out (although you won’t have to pack them).
I plan my meals for a few weeks or even a month at a time. I’ll rotate through my recipes and add new ones. I also use weekends to batch cook, so there are always healthy choices in the fridge. It helps with packing lunches, and if we aren’t all home together, my kids have something to eat.
The kids and I prep meals for the next day as a part of our nighttime routine. It’s a great time for my kids to use their cooking skills and we get to spend time together.
Build Immunity Before You Get Sick
Because back to school means more germs, now is the time to strengthen your entire family’s immunity. This article goes into depth on what I do. I like to focus on making sure we have a whole food, nutrient-dense diet (see meal planning), getting probiotics, and taking supplements.
Probiotics are super important to maximize our gut health and increase immunity. We take spore-based ones because they survive the digestive tract (unlike those that need to be refrigerated). I also offer fermented foods and drinks regularly. They’re easy to make at home too!
When school starts, the kids are inside more and getting less vitamin D. I like to check my kids’ levels of vitamin D and supplement if necessary. I also make sure to have vitamin C on hand for the occasional sickness. We do Epsom salt baths and magnesium spray or foot lotion (this is great to work into your nightly routine).
Get All the Supplies You Need
Whether your kids are in school or you’re homeschooling, you want to make sure they have all the materials they need to be successful. I like to shop for supplies in late July when most stores have them on sale. This also helps because things aren’t sold out yet.
Check with your children’s school to see what supplies they need. Don’t forget things at home to help them with homework. Set up a homework station so they have somewhere to complete their work with all of their supplies.
If you’re homeschooling, set up their classroom. Determine what homeschool resources you need based on your children’s ages, lessons, and curriculum. We have a homeschool room in our house, but if you can’t dedicate an entire room, set up a school space in a quiet part of your home.
And don’t forget new clothes! There’s a good chance your kids grew over the summer (why do they grow so fast?) and will need new clothes. I like to buy sustainable clothes when I can. I also shop at thrift stores and online at ThredUp to save money and help the environment. We use a capsule wardrobe, which makes it easy to minimize our clothes (and laundry). It also reduces decision fatigue on what to wear, especially for my younger kids.
Final Thoughts on Our Back to School Routine
Preparing early for the back to school transition will ensure that your family has a smoother time with the change in routines. Start planning early on, and before you know it, you’ll be taking that first day of school picture and starting off a new year with less stress and more calm.
What are your favorite ways to transition back to school? How do you plan for a new year of learning?