Tips for getting your kids ready to go back to school

It’s that time of year. The nights are getting shorter, the air is getting cooler, the kids are getting restless and we mamas (and daddies) are counting the days until school starts.  While you and I may be ready, the kids probably aren’t. So I’m going to share a few things that I use to get the kids in back-to-school mode.

1. Talk Up School I like to remind the girls how great it will be to see all of their friends they’ve missed over the summer. I remind them how much fun they’ll have and how they will also meet new friends and have a new teacher. My middle girl is starting Kindergarten so I’m telling her how great that will be and how exciting for everything to be new. She’s looking forward to riding the bus with her big sister, so I have Zeta tell her all about that too.

2. Ease back into a schedule  We all know how hard it is to go from sleeping in to getting up early. When you have to get up early,  you have to go to bed early. I don’t know how it is for you at your house, but summer doesn’t have the same bed time as during the school year. Also? We let the girls go to sleep in our bed (and then move them to their own) during the summer. It would be impossible to go from staying up til 10pm or later to going to bed at 7:30pm literally over night. So starting a couple weeks before school, we enforce the earlier bedtime a few nights a week.

3. Read to them  I take the girls to the library and have them pick out books about school.  Nita’s been reading about Kindergarten and the first day of school. This helps build the anticipation and excitement for the start of the school year. I also talk up their school library and how much fun it will be to get to go there every week.

4. School Shopping When all else fails to get them revved up for the new school year, I take them shopping. Nothing like a new pair of shoes and a few cute outfits to make a girl ready to hit the books. And of course the school supplies. I don’t know about you, but I loved getting a new Trapper Keeper every year and pencils and all that stuff. My kids do too.

5. After School Activities  When I hear that old refrain “I’m bored” I remind them how busy they’ll be once school starts! What with all the after school programs like, Chess, Science and Girl Scouts. And all the play dates we’ll be scheduling as well.

6. Party I like to have a little end of summer/start of school party for the girls. This really gets them pumped for back to school.

What are some of your tips for getting the kids ready to hit the books?

I wrote this blog post while participating in the TwitterMoms blogging program to be eligible to get a HarperCollins book set. For more information on how you can participate, click here