Last updated Aug 22, 2024
It’s back-to-school season! Returning to an academic calendar means keeping track of school events, class schedules, assignments, homework, and extracurricular activities. It’s a lot to manage, for both students and parents. These back to school tips can help you keep the essentials organized and enjoy calmer days even in the busy back-to-school season.
Back to school tips for parents
Stock up on back to school essentials
Think you have enough pencils, paper, or snacks? Think again. While things are on sale for the back-to-school season, go ahead and stock up on some of those essentials that get used up quickly. You can also become every teacher’s favorite parent by checking in halfway through the semester on what their classroom needs. It’s easy to replenish those important supplies from your own little stockpile.
Create a back to school calendar
What’s so tough about keeping the calendar organized once school starts again? It’s simple: There’s a lot happening. Parents have to keep track of school hours, holidays, sports, after-school activities, and transportation arrangements. A central family calendar makes it easier for everyone to know what’s going on.
For parents, a Teamup calendar can work as a master schedule point to keep track of everything: school schedules, work schedules, menu planning, family activities, and more. Start by setting up sub-calendars for each member of the family and for the main areas you want to schedule and organize.
Get an overview of back to school events
To make your calendar more useful, set up feeds for all those different schedules: the academic calendar, sports schedules, and so on. Otherwise you might start planning, only to realize there’s a conflict with a sports practice or school field trip. It’s frustrating enough to try to make things work with so many different demands. Make it easier on yourself by having an accurate overview of everything you need to keep in mind first.
Make it easy to get help
The one who holds the information also holds (all) the responsibility. To delegate things and actually get help, you’ve got to get the info to other people, so they can do stuff too:
- Get plans out of your head and onto something a little more accessible to others. Tired of making dinner? Put your meal plan on the calendar and start delegating. Need someone to pick up supplies for a class party? Get that list on paper or on your calendar so you can pass it along.
- Share scheduling details with others: For example, set up an outbound iCalendar feed of the school schedules with caregivers or grandparents who help with school transportation or after-school childcare.
Get that school night schedule in place
It’s all about routines during the school year. Start out by setting the basic framework in place: What time does everyone need to be in bed to get enough sleep? Then work backwards from there, thinking about time for homework, dinner, chores, relaxing, or other things that are important for your family life.
Use a printed timeline to sketch out the basic structure for back to school night schedules. Once you have it solidified, add it to the family calendar and hang up a handy printout as you re-establish the school night rhythm.
Get the best deals for back to school needs
Keep track of ongoing supply needs in one place. For example, add a section to your back to school calendar to capture the ongoing requests and keep track of deals. You can add notes, save links, and keep reference images handy. Then, set aside some time to review everything on the list and shop for the best deals.
With all the info saved in one place, it can go a lot faster than it normally does to keep up with back to school essentials.
Keep all the paperwork in one place
The back to school paperwork does not end when school starts! Save yourself a lot of trouble by setting aside one place for all those documents, from updated immunization forms to registration information, waivers, class rules, and so on. Here’s a pro tip: It’s easier to organize paper when it’s not actually paper. It’s also easier to share documents by emailing a PDF directly to the person who needs it, with no need to print another copy.
You can even share documents with kids this way, before they head off for a class trip or sports camp. Create an event, upload all the documents, then share the event page link with your child.
Tackle transitions for school day calm
When do things get sticky and frustration? It’s often during a transition. It might be that after-school hour when everyone is talking, looking for something, and trying to find a snack all at the same time. Chaos seems to love in-between moments: when you’re trying to get everyone out the door in the morning, or leave for practice, or just exist between dinner and bedtime. Even older kids often feel a little lost during transition time, and that’s when impatience comes rumbling out.
So: Make a plan for transitions. Mostly, they’re repeated times when we’re moving from one event or routine to another. A simple ritual, repeated process, or list can help smooth those moments. For example: After dinner, turn on music for 10 minutes and lower the lights. Ease mornings with a list of steps to take, and hang it up. Set a timer to go off a few minutes before you need to leave for practice, and let that be the reminder to gather up gear, fill up a water bottle, and get shoes on.
Back to school tips for kids
Going back to school creates a whole variety of reactions for high school students and elementary students. While kids are often excited to see friends and may even look forward to more routines, they’re also losing that summertime freedom and holiday flexibility. These back to school tips can help kids ease into the school year.
Make homework rewarding
Homework is unavoidable, so the more you put it off the more it will stress you out. Don’t let it pile up.
Instead, find one spot in your normal routine that becomes homework time.
Usually right after school works well, but if you have after-school activities it might have to be slotted into evening. Set a timer to get yourself going, and make it rewarding by including something you like (music, a great snack) and doing something fun when homework time is over.
Get back on a sleep schedule for school
Sleep, glorious sleep. You need it, but after summer or a holiday it can be really hard to get back into a good rhythm. But you’ll feel better, have more energy, and not fall asleep in class (we hope!) if you’re getting enough good hours of sleep.
Start by figuring out your sleep time: When do you need to get up? That time will help you figure out when you should go to bed to get a good amount of sleep.
Think about what helps you feel relaxed and ready to rest. Maybe it’s talking with friends, listening to music, or reading. A hot shower, or a calm video game. Build a little bedtime ritual of some of these calming things, and start it about 30 minutes to an hour before you want to be sleeping. It might not work at first, but if you stick with it your mind and body can learn, over time, that you’re getting ready to sleep and be more cooperative. Consistency really helps!
Break big projects into small pieces
Whether it’s a big test at the end of the semester, a long book you have to read, or a project that feel huge, this tip will help: Break the big thing into little pieces. Then, tackle each piece one at a time. You can even set up a timeline to make sure you stay on track.
So, let’s say you have six weeks to read a 300-page book for one of your classes. Break it down into pages per week: If you read 50 pages each week, you’ll be right on time.
Give yourself a way to keep up with your progress, too, like a calendar, a planner, or just a piece of paper. It’s helpful, because you know you’re on track and don’t have to worry. And it’s also rewarding. It feels good to check something off and know you did what you needed to do.
Use a planner for school
For busy students juggling a part-time job, a full academic schedule, and participation in sports or other extracurricular activities, an organized calendar is a way to keep the chaos at bay. Input everything you need to remember instead of depending on scraps of paper or notes on your phone. Here are a few more tips for high school students:
- Use Teamup’s sharing options to share events, or use an iCal feed to share your work schedule with parents, and reduce those “What’s your schedule?” and “When will you be home?” questions that come via text or email.
- Input all assignment due dates, required reading, reviews, and test days so you don’t get caught by surprise or miss an important class day.
- Create timelines for projects, big papers, or study sessions for major tests so you don’t get overloaded with all the work right before a deadline.
- Coordinate study groups with a shared calendar.
- Keep track of your work schedule, school schedule, and personal activities so you avoid double-booking yourself.
Calm over chaos for back to school success
Life will always have surprises and there will be moments of chaos no matter how organized we are. But making some changes and having a plan can bring a better back-to-school season, with build routines and systems that make it easier to handle those crazier times.
Create your own free Teamup calendar to help with back-to-school scheduling and tracking all the details. Bring all the information to one place, focus on what matters, get clear visuals on timelines and schedules, and enjoy calmer days.
