5 Hacks For A Smooth School Year

Your mini is off to school and the house is quiet. You are happy to have peace, but you also kinda miss them. You wonder... do they like their teacher? Their classmates? Are they going to eat their lunch or starve themselves?? Here are 5 hacks to help the school year go just a bit smoother:

  1. Talk to your child and create a routine that you both agree with, and stick to it. Kids LOVE structure, and there is nothing better than checking off to-do's throughout their day. Get a whiteboard and write down their routine. Make them follow it. 
  2. Stick to bedtime. I don't know about you, but the 8:30 bedtime only lasts about a week for us. We always go at least 15 minutes over because there are just not enough hours in the day! But sleep is a big deal for kid's brains, and school starts WAY TOO EARLY! So prioritize getting them to bed on time.
  3. Be prepared for school closures. No matter where you are in the world, COVID is a thing. Things can get worse again and schools can shut down any time. Have a back-up plan. Discuss the plan with your kid's friend's parents. Will you create a pod? Will you hire a group babysitter? Don't be blindsided.
  4. Remember they don't teach everything in school. Your kid will learn reading, writing, math, science, etc. But they will NOT learn financial literacy, questioning authority, or social responsibility. These are things you are still responsible for. Sign them up for kid's financial literacy classes such as Tiny Guru and figure out a cause they care about to volunteer for. This type of education is just as important as school
  5. Work hard, play hard. Ask your kid what fun activity they would really love to do and plan it for a weekend. You can consistently hold the activity over  their head so they do well in school. Bribing kids works! :-)