It’s not just the kids who need to get ready to go back to school – moms do too! Here is my best advice for back-to-school prep for mom.
Although this is my first official back-to-school season as a mom, I can already tell just how much this season will impact our entire family. I’m already scrambling to get my son ready to start Kindergarten while also juggling my daughter in preschool, my husband’s insane work schedule, my work schedule, extra-curriculars, and family time. It’s daunting.
So, while I’ve been gathering gear, buying supplies, and filling out all the forms for my son to head back to school, I’m attempting to set myself up for success too with a little bit of back-to-school prep for mom. Here is what I’ve been doing to get myself ready for the school year. I hope it works for me and for you too!
Back-to-School Prep for Mom
Calendar
For me, the first step in back-to-school prep for mom is getting very comfortable with your calendar. Whether you choose to use a paper calendar or a digital calendar (or you switch freely between them), you will live and die by your calendar during the school year. Because a calendar is so crucial to academic year success, I highly recommend that you set up your calendar now.
Now, what you need to do to set up your calendar will be extremely personal. So don’t take what I’m doing as the Gospel truth and go thou and do likewise. Really sit with your calendar and figure out how it can best serve you. I haven’t done this before, so I reserve the right to make changes as we move forward with the school, but here is what I’m doing in my calendar as back-to-school prep for mom.
School calendar
First off, I’m going through the school calendar and adding all of the important dates to my personal calendar. These include days off, early dismissals, and fun extra things at school. I’m sure this list will expand after my son actually starts school, but for now I’m working with what’s been made available on the school district’s website.
Extra-curricular calendar
I’m also adding all the extra-curricular activity dates and times to my calendar as part of my back-to-school prep. My son has chosen to try soccer this Fall, so I need to log one practice and one game per week in my calendar. I know, it could be so much worse. As for my daughter, we haven’t decided what her extra-curricular will be yet. She has expressed interest in both dance and ice-skating lessons, so we just need to figure out which will work better for our family schedule once we get the final soccer schedule.
Other life events
Sure, the back-to-school season tends to be focused on the kids, but life doesn’t stop just because the kids are going back to school. I’m making sure that I also log all the other life things on my calendar alongside the kid stuff so I know when I might have a packed day or even a scheduling conflict. It’s way better to know about these things ahead of time so you can make a plan for how you’ll deal with them.
Meals
I am always a huge fan of meal planning, whatever the season. Meal planning becomes especially crucial when life gets busy, so I’m very aware that I need to double-down on my meal planning as school gets going.
My plan is to keep meals easy for the first few weeks of school as we all get used to a new normal. For me, easy meals mean no-recipe meals that can be accomplished with very little preparation or time.
I also will consult my calendar so I know when we might need an on-the-go meal for dinner. Can someone please explain to me why every kid’s extra-curricular activity is scheduled to coincide exactly with dinner time?
Groceries
To be able to cook these easy meals, though, you also need a plan for groceries. Sadly, food doesn’t just magically appear in your fridge and pantry. Back-to-school prep for mom must include a grocery plan.
Grocery list
Fundamentally, I implore you to keep a running grocery list. With all the new that comes with the back-to-school season, you’re going to be scattered in about a million directions. This is not the time to go to the grocery store without a list. If you try that, you’ll probably come home with chips and ice cream and no ingredients to make a real meal.
I find that keeping a running grocery list takes the pressure out of making a list. Sure, I take some meal planning time when I decide my meals for the next week and add a bunch of items to my grocery list then, but I also add items to my list as the week progresses. Say my husband drinks the last of the orange juice. I don’t wait to add it to my list, I add it right when I see that bottle hit the recycling bin. If I don’t, it might be weeks before I remember to buy orange juice again.
I like to keep a paper list. Specifically, I like to use a magnetic meal planning pad that has meals on one side and a perforated grocery list on the other. This little baby lives on my freezer and stares me in the face all day every day. If only my husband would also add items to the easily accessible list when he thinks of things we need….
Getting groceries
Most weeks, I love to take my little paper grocery list and head to the grocery store. I don’t know why, but I actually like to go grocery shopping. If you hate to go grocery shopping or your week just really doesn’t have time, we live in a modern world that gives you options. You can order your groceries online for curbside pick up or even for delivery straight to your front door. God bless technology (sometimes).
Meetings/Appointments
I’m fully expecting that we will experience some growing pains as we get in the groove of a new school year. That means I’m probably going to be running late more than I like to be. I’m adding a few items to my back-to-school prep for mom list to reduce the impact of these growing pains.
First hour
I moved to a part-time schedule at work earlier this year. I set my schedule to make sure that I have an hour between when I’m supposed to be putting my son on the bus and when I need to be on for work. This wiggle room will allow for missed busses and days we’re so behind schedule that I can’t get my daughter to daycare before I need to put my son on the bus. If you’re able to set your schedule accordingly, I highly suggest it. If not, you can probably block off the first hour of your day for the first week or two of school so you’re less stressed about being late to work. Whatever you can do to reduce your stress is a good thing!
Last half hour
When I returned to work after my first maternity leave, I blocked my calendar for the last half hour of my workday every single day. It has been over 5 years, and the last half hour of my day is still blocked off on my work calendar. This 30-minute block at the end of my day allows me to get my day wrapped up before I need to leave and limits the hair-on-fire rush out of the door at the end of the day. Sure, I often override this self-imposed calendar block, but only when I know it’s happening and can prepare to be in a meeting up until the bitter end of my workday. If you’re not doing this, start now.
Commitments
I fully expect to be extremely excited about my kid starting school next month. I’m so excited for his next chapter and I want to be a part of it. This makes me extremely susceptible to overcommitting to things.
But I logically know that he can’t do everything and I can’t be there for every bit of it. So that I don’t let my emotions and excitement cloud what my brain knows to be true, I’m setting a few rules for myself as back-to-school prep for mom.
One at a time
When I was growing up, my parents had a rule that we could only do one extra-curricular at a time. Want to be in school play? Great! Want to play on the volleyball team? Super! But not both at the same time. As my son is getting older, I’m realizing just how smart my parents were in setting this rule. I’m sticking to it, and I highly recommend you think about instituting it in your house too.
Volunteering
It’s a tough pill to swallow for me that I can’t work part-time, write this blog, be the PTA president, go on every field trip, and coach the teams. I want to do it all, but I just can’t. I’m taking a beat before I volunteer for anything this year. Should I volunteer to coach the soccer team when I never played soccer outside of gym class? No, I shouldn’t, so I’m not going to.
Delegate
Mom, you can’t do it all. I know for some of you, that’s hard to hear. But it’s good to delegate, so start practicing now as part of your back-to-school prep!
Spouse
If you have a spouse or a co-parent to your children, divvy up the responsibilities between the two of you. Yes, even if your spouse will do a task differently than you would (are you listening, Sara?).
Kids
I find myself wanting to do everything for my kids. Is it because I want to show them how much I love them? Yes. Is it also because I want them to rely on me so they never leave me? Probably, and this isn’t healthy. What is healthy is teaching them a little bit of age-appropriate independence and self-reliance. So, delegate age-appropriate tasks to your kids.
What you can delegate to your kids is super kid-dependent. For example, I’ve already explained to my son that he will be in charge of his lunchbox upon his return home from school each day. He needs to empty the lunchbox, put the dirty containers in the sink, and pop his lunchbox (with built-in freezer packs) back in the freezer. He also knows that his backpack belongs on his hook in our mudroom and his shoes belong in a cubby in our shoe bench. These are tasks that are easy enough for him to do but take a huge load off my shoulders. I’m sure I’ll find more of these tasks to delegate as we go. What are the tasks that you like to delegate to your kids?
Schedule
The last item on my list of back-to-school prep for mom might just be the most important. This is one you need to figure out soon and communicate so everyone is on the same page when the rubber meets the road on the first day of school. Set a schedule!
To avoid all the meltdowns and hurt feelings, it’s super important that everyone in your family knows what is expected of them when school starts. This is especially important if your kids have had a lot less structure over the summer.
When you set a schedule you, of course, need to talk about times, but it’s also important that your kids know what they need to do each step of the way. Instead of just saying that wake-up time is at 7:00 a.m., say that wake-up time is at 7:00 a.m., then you’ll go to the bathroom, eat breakfast, brush your teeth, and get dressed. Leave no room for interpretation.
My daily schedule is looking something like this:
Wake-up
Wake-up time for my son is 6:15 a.m. My daughter follows right after by 6:30 a.m. We go to the bathroom, eat breakfast, brush teeth, and get dressed so we can be out the door by 7:00 a.m.
Drop-off/Bus
Because my kids are going to two different schools this year, we have a few different steps in our drop-off schedule. We aim to leave the house by 7:00 a.m. so we can drop my daughter off at preschool. Then, my son and I will head back to the house so we can gather his school stuff and head to the bus stop.
Pick-up/Bus
My son will get off the bus after his half day of Kindergarten and half day of Kindergarten enrichment. We will then head home, drop off his school stuff, and get in the car to go pick up my daughter from preschool.
After school time
Once both kids have been picked up from school, it’s either back home to make dinner or off to an extra-curricular. This will vary depending on the day.
Bedtime
Because my kids get up so early in the morning, I really like them to be in bed by 8:00 p.m. As part of bedtime, they shower, brush their teeth, change into pajamas, and pick a few books to read as a family.
Other posts
Looking for other back-to-school content? I’m new at this game, but you might find a few of these posts to be helpful:
What’s on your list of back-to-school prep for mom? I’d love to know what I’m missing so I have time to do it before the big day! Please share down below or over on Instagram @sarainseason.