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Post by LavenderLayoutLady on Sept 3, 2017 12:38:34 GMT
I thought it might be fun to have a thread offering tips to make the transition of a new school year easier.
One of my worries was my son (1st grade) having to carry all his school supplies in and struggling with it. It is an insane amount of supplies.
37 Lbs! Not including his bookbag, his (very full) pencil case, or his manila envelope of summer activities homework.
I called the school and asked to be allowed to bring it in before school started. They let me take it to the office on Friday. Hooray!
Another thing i did to make my life easier was to bag up lunch and recess snacks. I used Great Value (Walmart brand) square snack bags, and put a serving in each of them. I bagged up the contents of: 1 giant box of goldfish, 1 large bag of Teddygrams, 1 large box of veggie crackers, 1 large bag of pretzel sticks.
It will make packing lunches so much easier to already have it portioned and just toss it in the lunchbox the night before with a drinkbox, and only have to make the sandwich in the morning.
Please feel free to share tips you have, too!
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Post by Linda on Sept 3, 2017 13:43:11 GMT
We went back to school on the 14th.
One thing I always do and didn't this year - was bring the school supplies to Meet the Teacher night (the Thurs before school starts) - because of our road trip - we didn't do the school shopping until the weekend before we went back so...but we drive the girls the first day so we brought DD10's in for her.
Making lunch the night before - they make their own but if they didn't make it before bedtime, then they can get school lunch.
Laying out clothes the night before - I don't bother with DD17 but I do encourage DD10 at least the first couple of weeks.
setting up an afterschool routine from day one - DD10 knows when she walks in - that I'll look at and sign her binder, she can grab a snack, and it's time to sit at the table and do her homework. Playtime comes afterwards
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Post by bigbundt on Sept 3, 2017 14:24:39 GMT
We brought the supplies to meet the teacher night too so all my daughter had to worry about was her backpack and lunch box.  Mine is in second and the biggest thing that has helped are The Checklists. We have a morning checklist and an afternoon one. Nothing fancy, just handwritten on paper with boxes that I put in a sheet protector, magnets between the sheets and it gets flipped on the fridge. This is the first year I haven't had to nag her to get stuff done, I just point to the checklist. And we also established an afternoon routine that works with our daughter. We know that she has to do everything (including homework) as soon as she gets home because otherwise she puts it off and it results in crying and yelling at bedtime. I put together a homework box full of supplies she may need for homework. It has saved us frustration and time to not have to search for a sharpened pencil or crayon or ruler. It is all there and when she is done, she puts it away for next time. And keeps her little sister out of them too. Picking out clothes the night before helps us have a smooth morning. And prevents her from pulling a bunch of stuff off hangers and throwing them on the floor. |
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Post by crazy4scraps on Sept 3, 2017 14:31:41 GMT
Our school encourages parents to bring in all the supplies at meet the teacher day before school starts, so that's what we do. There is no way my kid could haul all that stuff to school in her backpack! It filled a good sized box, and that didn't even include the other stuff that was on the teacher's "wish list" that we didn't get until meet the teacher day.  So now I need to go shopping again for page protectors, hand sanitizer, cardstock and gallon ziplock bags, ugh. DH solves the lunch problem by insisting that DD gets hot lunch at school unless there's a field trip where she needs to bring a cold lunch. I try to help DD figure out what she's going to wear the next day so she can get dressed right away in the morning. She changes up what she wants to eat in the morning so for that we wait until then, but I had a friend who would set the table and pour out cereal in the bowls the night before so the kids would just have to pour the milk and eat. After school, DD knows I will check her daily take home folder for anything I need to read or sign while she has a snack. Any homework needs to be done right away before she can play, watch videos or anything else. I pack up her daytime school snacks into a quart sized bag for the week on Mondays so she has a choice of what to pick each day and won't run out. |
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Posts: 0
Jun 10, 2024 20:36:59 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Sept 3, 2017 14:43:08 GMT
CAKE!!!!!!!
I love my children dearly! I have bought all the necessary school supplies and lovingly wrote their names on anything I could.
But come Wednesday when those precious little monsters go off to school, I am going to sit at the table with a nice cup of coffee and a BIG FAT piece of cake....and enjoy the silence!!!!!!
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Post by melanell on Sept 3, 2017 15:18:41 GMT
For younger kids, I made little checklists for morning, after school, and evening. Then every morning, instead of asking "Did you brush you teeth yet?" or "Is your bed made" I just asked each kid if their list was done. (I included pictures for those too young too read well.) After school they'd take care of their lunch box and pick out the next days' clothes. I know many view that as an evening task, but I found they were likely to change their clo0thes when they came home, so they were already messing with clothing anyway and it was one less thing to do in the evening. Plus, they typically come home hungry, so in the few minutes it takes them to those tasks, I can put a snack of my choosing out for them, then they can eat and have some free time before we move into reading/studying/homework. When the kids do their homework, I do mine. In other words I look for and take care of any notices, quizzes to be signed, reminders, requests that the school sent home. That way I can put the money, permission slip, etc. right back into their folder or bag immediately. I also check the school website at that time to see how things are going, to check what they say they have to do against what the teachers posted, and to check on their lunch accounts. And the biggie for my kids is that we schedule in (actually put right on the calendar) some family fun once the school year starts. After having fun all summer they like some proof that the special outings will continue once we get back to the school routine. So it may be something as nominal as "Pumpkin donut day at Krispy Kreme!", or "family game" or "go swimming!" on a weeknight, or something more substantial on a weekend ("Apple Festival on Saturday!" or "Hike a new trail!" on Sunday). |
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Post by gypsymama on Sept 3, 2017 16:56:18 GMT
one thing i'm really big on is OUTFITS.... when i put laundry away, i put things into outfits... i have a stacker thing that hangs in the closet and i fill it up with outfits. ds is 9 and 4th grade and really not a morning person, so being able to just pull out an outfit really helps his mornings. we're going to do a check list this year too with me working 2 jobs etc... i just lose track of too much and forget to remind him.
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Post by 950nancy on Sept 3, 2017 17:10:17 GMT
My kids had their own alarm clock by second grade. That helped immensely. They also had their lunch packed, back pack checked and repacked, and it was all in the car the night before school. Mornings were actually very smooth. I am a planner and both of my boys got that gene from me. One year they tried sleeping in their school clothes so they could get out the door even faster. While I loved their thought process, it was denied. They just laid out their clothes in the order they needed to put them on. Ha. These were also the same boys who packed their own vacation bags by second grade. They laid out everything they would need for one day, rolled it up, and put it in the luggage. Makes a momma so proud.
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Post by lucyg on Sept 3, 2017 18:23:44 GMT
Okay, I am clearly pampering this kid. However, he is capable of dressing himself. For most of the year, he wears t-shirts and shorts to school. He has a drawerful of t-shirts and shorts, and he can pick out any ones he likes ... I don't worry too much about how matchy-matchy they are, although I have very occasionally suggested a change if it's a truly blinding combination. Plus clean underwear and socks, or ELSE. In the dead of winter, he can choose long pants from the next drawer, instead of shorts. For snack, he likes Sriracha Cheez-its snack mix, which is too hot for me but whatever. I stock up when it goes on sale for $1.99. Way too expensive at full price. I pack the long, narrow snack bags half full of that, enough baggies for the week, and then I add a string cheese each morning when I pack up his backpack (yes, I still do it for him, so sue me). He's in third grade. Plus he takes a small water bottle. I ask him to bring it home, so it can be reused several times. Usually he remembers. I also cook breakfast for him every morning (he's a little old man at heart, and he likes his fried eggs) and pack his lunch if he's taking instead of buying. He usually wakes up on time on his own. I haven't (after two weeks) gotten around to looking at the supply list. At our school, it's a combined list done by all the teachers in that grade, and my experience has been that one individual teacher doesn't even care about half the stuff on it. We happen to have the same teacher for third grade that he already had for first grade, plus she's my sister's neighbor, so I'm just going to email her and ask what she wants me to bring instead of religiously following the list. Sorry if this annoys the teachers here.  In the past I've kept the teachers supplied with giant Costco boxes of Goldfish crackers for the kids who don't bring a snack, and tissues with lotion because my mega-allergic grandson is mostly the one who uses them, anyway.  I've already sent those in, so as not to get on her nerves TOO much. After school he gets an hour to play as he likes (usually screen time) and then we do homework and eat dinner early, because we have tae kwon do every night when other people are eating dinner. Thanks for this thread, because I'm watching what everyone else does for helpful ideas. |
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Post by 950nancy on Sept 3, 2017 19:44:10 GMT
Okay, I am clearly pampering this kid. However, he is capable of dressing himself. For most of the year, he wears t-shirts and shorts to school. He has a drawerful of t-shirts and shorts, and he can pick out any ones he likes ... I don't worry too much about how matchy-matchy they are, although I have very occasionally suggested a change if it's a truly blinding combination. Plus clean underwear and socks, or ELSE. In the dead of winter, he can choose long pants from the next drawer, instead of shorts. For snack, he likes Sriracha Cheez-its snack mix, which is too hot for me but whatever. I stock up when it goes on sale for $1.99. Way too expensive at full price. I pack the long, narrow snack bags half full of that, enough baggies for the week, and then I add a string cheese each morning when I pack up his backpack (yes, I still do it for him, so sue me). He's in third grade. Plus he takes a small water bottle. I ask him to bring it home, so it can be reused several times. Usually he remembers. I also cook breakfast for him every morning (he's a little old man at heart, and he likes his fried eggs) and pack his lunch if he's taking instead of buying. He usually wakes up on time on his own. I haven't (after two weeks) gotten around to looking at the supply list. At our school, it's a combined list done by all the teachers in that grade, and my experience has been that one individual teacher doesn't even care about half the stuff on it. We happen to have the same teacher for third grade that he already had for first grade, plus she's my sister's neighbor, so I'm just going to email her and ask what she wants me to bring instead of religiously following the list. Sorry if this annoys the teachers here. In the past I've kept the teachers supplied with giant Costco boxes of Goldfish crackers for the kids who don't bring a snack, and tissues with lotion because my mega-allergic grandson is mostly the one who uses them, anyway. I've already sent those in, so as not to get on her nerves TOO much. After school he gets an hour to play as he likes (usually screen time) and then we do homework and eat dinner early, because we have tae kwon do every night when other people are eating dinner. Thanks for this thread, because I'm watching what everyone else does for helpful ideas. My boys always marveled the "real moms" who made breakfast for their kids and packed their lunches. For me, it was just sanity/survival! After working all day with small people, I came home to cleaning, sports practices, making dinner and then grading papers four nights a week. I make a horrible martyr. . I am in awe of the moms who are so selfless. |
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Post by lucyg on Sept 3, 2017 19:50:14 GMT
Okay, I am clearly pampering this kid. However, he is capable of dressing himself. For most of the year, he wears t-shirts and shorts to school. He has a drawerful of t-shirts and shorts, and he can pick out any ones he likes ... I don't worry too much about how matchy-matchy they are, although I have very occasionally suggested a change if it's a truly blinding combination. Plus clean underwear and socks, or ELSE. In the dead of winter, he can choose long pants from the next drawer, instead of shorts. For snack, he likes Sriracha Cheez-its snack mix, which is too hot for me but whatever. I stock up on when it goes on sale for $1.99. Way too expensive at full price. I pack the long, narrow snack bags half full of that, enough baggies for the week, and then I add a string cheese each morning when I pack up his backpack (yes, I still do it for him, so sue me). He's in third grade. Plus he takes a small water bottle. I ask him to bring it home, so it can be reused several times. Usually he remembers. I also cook breakfast for him every morning (he's a little old man at heart, and he likes his fried eggs) and pack his lunch if he's taking instead of buying. He usually wakes up on time on his own. I haven't (after two weeks) gotten around to looking at the supply list. At our school, it's a combined list done by all the teachers in that grade, and my experience has been that one individual teacher doesn't even care about half the stuff on it. We happen to have the same teacher for third grade that he already had for first grade, plus she's my sister's neighbor, so I'm just going to email her and ask what she wants me to bring instead of religiously following the list. Sorry if this annoys the teachers here. In the past I've kept the teachers supplied with giant Costco boxes of Goldfish crackers for the kids who don't bring a snack, and tissues with lotion because my mega-allergic grandson is mostly the one who uses them, anyway. I've already sent those in, so as not to get on her nerves TOO much. After school he gets an hour to play as he likes (usually screen time) and then we do homework and eat dinner early, because we have tae kwon do every night when other people are eating dinner. Thanks for this thread, because I'm watching what everyone else does for helpful ideas. My boys always marveled the "real moms" who made breakfast for their kids and packed their lunches. For me, it was just sanity/survival! After working all day with small people, I came home to cleaning, sports practices, making dinner and then grading papers four nights a week. I make a horrible martyr. . I am in awe of the moms who are so selfless. When I saw the notification, I figured you were going to ding me for not shopping the list. Okay, you need to understand that I'm the grandma now. I was not a particularly hands-on mom. My son says I fed him cereal and pop tarts for breakfast. (Honestly, I don't really remember.) I didn't work outside the home, but I had other interests and didn't micro-manage my kids they way I do this one. I am hardly selfless, and you did fine. |
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Post by melanell on Sept 3, 2017 19:56:57 GMT
Oh, ad we have a rule that there is to be no use of electronics on school mornings until everyone is done at the breakfast table AND the kids are both 100% ready to walk out the door. That way they are not tempted to eat 2 bites and claim they are full, because DH & I are still at the table. Plus, if one kid is 100% ready and the other is not, they have some incentive to help one another. Then we set the timer in the kitchen to alert them as to when it is time to shut off the TV or game, make one last run to the bathroom (my kids are on the bus a long time!), grab their stuff and head for the end of the driveway. |
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Post by 950nancy on Sept 3, 2017 20:09:41 GMT
My boys always marveled the "real moms" who made breakfast for their kids and packed their lunches. For me, it was just sanity/survival! After working all day with small people, I came home to cleaning, sports practices, making dinner and then grading papers four nights a week. I make a horrible martyr. . I am in awe of the moms who are so selfless. When I saw the notification, I figured you were going to ding me for not shopping the list. Okay, you need to understand that I'm the grandma now. I was not a particularly hands-on mom. My son says I fed him cereal and pop tarts for breakfast. (Honestly, I don't really remember.) I didn't work outside the home, but I had other interests and didn't micro-manage my kids they way I do this one. I am hardly selfless, and you did fine. As far as the list? Yeah, you would have had a note in the planner from your kid asking for supplies. I was that teacher. . We pared our list down as a team and used it all. |
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So now I need to go shopping again for page protectors, hand sanitizer, cardstock and gallon ziplock bags, ugh.
I've already sent those in, so as not to get on her nerves TOO much.