Breathe a sigh of relief! The kids are soon to be studying and learning again! Meanwhile, it’s time to get yourself organized at home so the paper tiger doesn’t grab hold of your household making things nuttier than they need to be.
Top tips from other moms who have the back-to-school drill down:
• ONE SHARED WIPE-OFF CALENDAR YOU ALL CAN SEE AT ONCE
Pick up a blank wipe-off calendar and dry-erase markers at an office supply store and hang it in your kitchen or other central spot where your entire family can see it. Write down important dates now and use it just for the current month so everyone can see what’s going on: dentist appointments, sports events, school orientation dates, etc.
• CALENDAR SOFTWARE NEEDED FOR ON-THE-GO LIFESTYLES
Some families are completely electronic using Google and Cozi. They work well for families who have kids with smart phones. Take a look at your school’s upcoming year calendar and input important dates NOW, i.e. fall break, spring break, holiday break, teacher in-service days.
• A PAPER BIN FOR EACH CHILD
Works better than a folder for each child, and you need a way to manage the papers coming home from multiple kids. Stackable plastic bins work great and you can teach your kids to put the papers they don’t need directly into their plastic bin for you to see.
• TICKLER FILES
Invest in a file crate and set it up with hanging files. Inside the hanging files, place file folders labeled by weeks. Keep school work you don’t want to lose, event flyers and other important things you want to keep for awhile. At the end of the school year you can go through the file and decide what to keep and what to toss!
• SCHOOL SUPPLIES FOR HOME
Make sure you have a working pencil sharpener, and in a central place, a caddy that holds everything your kids will need for homework including:
• Kid-sized scissors
• Notebook paper
• Graphing paper
• Ruler
• Glue
• Pens and pencils
• Eraser
• Hole punch
• Etc., etc.
• A LARGE DOUBLE HOOK OR BIN FOR EACH CHILD
Set these up somewhere so your child knows where to put his backpack and so you don’t end up kicking it around your kitchen!
