Stress Free Back to School Routine Ideas

[Briana Hartzell USAA]

The chimes of the alarm I have set are more pleasant than the ever-intensifying beep of the alarm clock of my youth, but it still isn’t a welcome sound. With the school year swiftly approaching the whole family is attempting to shed our relaxed summer schedules for more of a routine, especially in the mornings. This is the first of three steps to get ready for back to school.

Help take the stress out of transitioning to a back to school by:

1. Re-establishing a routine

I asked fellow Navy spouses how they helped their family get into a back to school groove and here is the advice they shared:

Kendra: My youngest is going into kinder. We just moved bedtime to a reasonable time, get dinner ready a little earlier and have them writing things down throughout the day to get them back in the groove. We also talk about rules and such.

Ashlen:  I would start the routine you're going to follow during the school year. Dinner, bed and bath at the same time. Have them sit down and color or read a book at the time that would be devoted for homework. And wake up at the same time and follow the morning routine. They will get the hang of it and hopefully won't complain too much.

Jennifer: We move bedtime back 30 min a night until we get to 8pm. Discuss school year rules if you have older ones. Start now because teenagers don’t like change!

Maira: Started our routine this week (play, dinner, bath/shower, and bed by 8) so it's not a total shock for them. 

Eve: Try for a play date with some of new kindergarten buddies before school begins. That way your child will recognize faces at school. Sometimes schools will host something like this before school starts.  

2. Roundup Your Resources:

• School Liaison- Student Liaison Officer (SLO) (aka Family Resource Specialist) acts as the Installation’s point of contact for all things school related. You can find contact information by military branch here. This is a free resource to help you navigate finding a new school, moving during the school year, your all around go to for school questions for your family.
  
  
• Operation Homefront: BACK-TO-SCHOOL BRIGADE® is Operation Homefront's annual school supply collection and distribution campaign. Since inception, Operation Homefront has distributed 350,000 backpacks to military children.  To find one in your area check their schedule.

3. Revamp your attitude:

I noticed a huge change in my almost kindergartener’s excitement when I started to focus on how wonderful school would be instead of how much I was going to miss her! Start to talk about all the positive aspects of school (new friends, opportunities for learning, activities and sports) and your excitement will be contagious !

School started this week for my little girl. Following the advice above really helped us prepare but nothing could have prepared me for the heart wrenching feeling as I watched her tentatively walk into her classroom. I kept it together for her last wave walking into the classroom but was thankful for oversized sunglasses to hide the tears on the walk back to the car. There have been tears at subsequent drop offs but I am hopeful as the year progresses it will get easier.

Please share how you get your family ready for school!

Read Next:

5 Ways to Save on Back to School Shopping

7 Ways to Share the Back to School Experience with Deployed Moms and Dads

Back to School Post Roundup

About the Blogger: Briana Hartzell is a Navy spouse, mother to two beautiful girls (5 and 3 years), a former full time USAA employee and a graduate of Texas A&M University. Briana writes at Being Briana, a blog focused on the joys that military life and parenthood can bring.