The following is a guest post from Crystal Barton.
Are you wondering how you can get this school year started with no stress involved? I may not be able to eliminate all your stress, but I can help to curtail it a bit. Below I am giving you some secrets to having a successful school year. I don’t know about you, but sometimes stress levels begin to rise when the word school starts to be mentioned too much around our house. Let’s have this year be different, let’s be better prepared from the beginning.
Let’s just get right in and start finding out what you can do to have a successful school year.
Secrets to a Successful School Year:
- Make sure your kids rooms are clean and ready to go for the new school year.
- Do they need new clothes? Go through their clothes and decide what is needed.
- School supplies, try to find deals on school supplies so you can save some money.
- Look at the activities your kids are going to be in, make sure you have scheduled carpool and anything else that goes along with their activities.
These are just a few things that we need to think about before that school bell rings for the first time this school year. It is always better to be prepared than to flounder around at the last minute. Floundering benefits no one and all your children see is mom is going crazy for no reason.
Create a Homework Station:
The benefits of having a place your children can go to do their homework is incredible. Here are some ways having a homework station will help:
- It helps your child create a homework routine.
- Your child will create study habits that will be with them throughout all their school years.
- The kids know they do homework and nothing else while they are at that station.
A homework station is a great thing to create and it is a beneficial thing to do as well. If you are saying to yourself that you have no extra room in your house to dedicate to nothing but a homework station, you are in luck because you don’t have to have extra space, you can create a homework caddy and have your children go to the same area everyday to do their homework. That works just as well.
Now let’s have a look at some containers you can use for a homework caddy (please note these are affiliate links). Be sure to keep in mind the different things you will need to put in their caddy. Younger kids will probably need more space than older kids do.
I love this caddy because of the different compartments it has. Everything that is needed for homework will have it’s own place and you won’t have to go digging around looking for a pencil.
This art caddy is super cute! I love that you can see everything that you will put in the caddy so there is no way your children can say they don’t see something or the pink crayon isn’t in there.
What I love about this caddy is that it has a lid, that way nothing will fall out when your homework caddy isn’t in use. Once you open the lid, it has a removable tray with four compartments.
Note from Laura: the Ikea Raskog cart would also be perfect as a homework station. Also check out this detailed tutorial from Rachel on how to set up a homework supply caddy. It’s awesome!
Mom’s Secret for a Successful School Year:
A mother’s work is never done. And, now that school is about to be underway again. Let’s do some things that will help with our sanity.
- Clean out your car – It’s been a summer of hauling kids around. Why not start the school year off right by having a clean car. You will feel so much better with a clean car.
- Clean out your purse – It’s time for all those extra receipts, socks, gum wrappers, hair bows and toys to find their way back to their home. I bet your purse has been housing them long enough.
- Grocery shop – Be prepared on the first day of school with some amazing school lunches and after school snacks.
- Organize refrigerator, freezer and pantry – If these areas are organized, then you are able to see with just a glance the different items you are out of and what you need to stock up on.
- Traditions made – Is there a tradition you do on the first day of school you need to make sure you are prepared for? Are there photos that are taken? Measurements drawn on a wall? Extra stories told?
Making this school year a success for everyone:
We have made checklist for things that need to happen for our children to have a successful start to a new school year. We have gone over what we need to do in our home and lives to have some sanity during the year. Now let’s go over what kind of goals we would like to set for ourselves this school year.
Is there something you would like to start this school year? Maybe a new hobby? Adding something to your current routine? Meal Planning? Maybe freezer cooking some meals ahead of time? Now is the time to set those goals and begin to implement them.
Make three different lists:
To accomplish these things and set yourself up for success, you’ll need to create three different lists to help you stay focused…
- One list being what needs to be done for your children to help prepare them for a successful school year.
- Another one being what needs to be done at home to prepare and help have a successful school year at home.
- And lastly, create a list just for you. A list of all the things you would like to do or be part of this coming school year.
Once those three lists are written out, start an action plan now to insure these things will happen. Make sure you keep these lists close by so you can refer to them throughout the school year.
Hi there! I’m Crystal. I am a mom, wife, caregiver and lover of all things organized. I love to write, run, organize, laugh and spend time with those I hold closest to my heart. If I am able to do all those things in one day, I would say I had a great day.
- *Please note that affiliate links are included in this post to make it easier for you to find what is being referenced. A small commission is made should you purchase product using these links, but this is at no extra cost to you. As always, any and all opinions are genuinely my own – or the author, in the case of posts by my guest contributors. Thank you!*
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