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12 Tips to Be Super Prepared for Back to School

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This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

It’s that time of year again — time to get your kids prepared to head back to school. Depending on where you live, your kids might be starting school in a couple weeks or you might have a full month left. But regardless of what day the school bus starts rolling, you’ll want to get prepared now. This post is sponsored, so extra thanks for reading and sharing.

Tips to Be Super Prepared for Back to School

I’m Jennifer from the blog The Life of Jennifer Dawn and contributor here at 5 Minutes for Mom. I’m here today to help you get prepared for back to school with twelve tips to get you and your kids ready to tackle a new school year. We’re also sharing a fantastic company that offers school supplies, backpacks, labels, and lunch boxes all personalized with your child’s name. Stuck on You has dozens of great products that make back to school shopping a breeze.

With Stuck on You and these 12 tips, you’ll be the most prepared mom on the block…

1. Buy Clothes and Supplies

Take inventory of the supplies you still have from the previous year. It may surprise you how much can be reused. Beat the rush and buy anything else you need early.

Prices on school supplies are at their lowest during this time of year, so be sure to stock up. 

Stuck on You has many of the supplies that your child may need like pencil sharpeners, colored pencils, pencil pouches, rulers, and scissors.

Stuck on You Personalized School Supplies

They even have backpacks that can be personalized with cute designs and your child’s name. Do you need an extra bag for dance lessons or soccer practice? Stuck on You has you covered on those too.

This is a perfect time to clean out your child’s closet and sell or donate any clothes and shoes they’ve outgrown. Buy some basic pieces that will mix and match together to create a versatile back to school wardrobe.

2. Label Everything

Lunch boxes, water bottles, and school supplies always seem to wind up missing at some point during the year. It’s like they grow legs and wander off or something! Am I right? Save yourself and your kids a lot of stress and expense by labeling all of their lunch containers, bags, and supplies.

Personalized School Supplies for Back to School

Stuck on You is a lifesaver when it comes to this step. They have bags, lunch containers, pencils, key chains, and more that can all be personalized with your child’s name. 

Personalized School Supplies

The labeling is done for you! Order a pack of colored pencils or pens and it comes with each individual writing utensil personalized with your child’s name.

They also have customizable labels. There are iron-on labels for clothes, scratch-resistant labels for books, and even microwave and dishwasher safe labels for lunch containers and water bottles. How’s that for easy labeling?

3. Get on a Routine

Chances are that schedules and bedtimes haven’t been enforced as much during the break from school. Get the kids back on a regular routine about two weeks before school starts. This helps to gradually transition them back to consistent bedtimes and earlier wake-ups.

Establish a routine for the family to follow before and after school. With just a quick search on Pinterest, you can find dozens of printable routine cards and schedules. Choose one that will work best for your family and set it out as a visual reminder of the daily schedule.

Even though we are a homeschool family, there are still mornings when we have co-op classes, extracurricular activities, or other events to attend. Once I put a visual routine in place for getting ready, our mornings started flowing much smoother.

Having a set routine for the hours after school ensures that homework, family dinners, and extracurricular activities all run like clockwork. You want evenings and bedtime to run just as smoothly as your mornings.

4. Get Organized

As a homeschool mom, getting organized for us means setting up our homeschool room with all of the books and materials we’ll need for the year.

For you, it might mean creating a kitchen command center, homework station, or storage area for backpacks and shoes.

What area of your home or life needs a little organizational magic before the busy school days begin? What can you do to spruce it up?

5. Encourage Independence

Let the kids do as much as they are able on their own. Do you have a child who is old enough to make their own sandwich? Can one of the older kids help their younger siblings get dressed? Have your kids been given opportunities to complete tasks on their own for when you’re not there to help?

Encourage them to be as independent as they are able. This takes a lot off of your plate and helps them build confidence and responsibility.

As mothers, we naturally want to nurture and take care of our kids, but we also need to be willing to step back and allow them opportunities to make their own choices and do some things for themselves.

6. Create a Lunch and Snack Station

Speaking of encouraging independence…create a station filled with the supplies and healthy foods for the kids to prepare and pack their own lunches and snacks.

Designate a bin in the refrigerator and a cabinet or drawer as the holding area for lunch items. Water bottles, food containers, bags, utensils, napkins, spare condiments, and healthy food choices can all be kept in those designated areas to make packing lunches fun and easy.

7. Use a Calendar or Planner

Start by filling out the start and end dates for the school year. Then add-in any important school-related events. Make sure to include holidays and vacations. The school’s website will typically have a calendar that lists all of this information. Take a look and add those dates to your own calendar.

A planner will also help you keep track of appointments and extracurricular activities. You’ll feel more pulled together and organized if you have a clear idea of what’s coming up each week.

My husband and I even have a weekly meeting where we go over the calendar and make any necessary plans for the week ahead. It’s a great way for us to stay in communication with each other and support our kids’ education as a united front.

8. Get on a Housekeeping Routine

Cleaning schedules and menu plans will help you stay on top of running the house during the busiest months of the year.

Enlist the kids’ help, too! Assign them chores and tasks to do around your home. Many hands really do make light work!

9. Prepare the Kids

Schedule a one-on-one time which each of your children before school starts. Spend this time doing something fun together. Ask their thoughts and feelings about starting a new school year. Talk to them about what to expect this year. Do they have any questions or fears?

This special time together can help settle “beginning of the year” jitters and open up an honest line of communication that’ll hopefully remain open for the rest of the year.

10. Set Goals

Have each person in the family brainstorm a few attainable goals they’d like to accomplish during the year. Make sure to write them down somewhere to check progress and refer back to periodically.

Being goal-oriented is an excellent way to get the year off to a positive and productive start.

11. Prepare the Night Before

Get yourself and the kids into the habit of preparing everything you’ll need for school the night before. Pick out clothes, pack bags, and even prepare snacks and lunches.

Having these things done the night before will make your mornings much less stressful.

12. Stay Positive and Make It Fun!

Have you ever heard the saying, “If mom isn’t happy, nobody is happy.” There is a lot of truth to this. Moms set the mood for the rest of the household. If you are positive and upbeat about school, the kids will be as well. Learning and school should be exciting!

Make it a point to inject some fun into the process. Have a back to school celebration! Or even buy your child something special that will get them excited about starting school again.

Back to School Checklist – Free Printable

Are you feeling more prepared now? The beginning of a new year can feel overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be that way.

To help you get super prepared, enjoy this FREE printable. It walks you through the steps that will get the school year off to a great start for you and your kids!

Back to School Checklist

Click Here to Download a Print Ready PDF Version.

Remember to check out Stuck on You for fun, personalized products for going back to school.

Giveaway

We’re giving away a Stuck On You Prize Pack worth $95 and containing:

If you’d like to win, leave us a comment sharing a tip that helps you and your family prepare for the beginning of a new school year. Then complete your entry using the form below.

Open to US and Canadian residents except those in Quebec.

 

Follow Stuck On You:
facebook.com/stuckonyouofficial/
facebook.com/stuckonyou.usa/
instagram.com/stuckonyouofficial/
twitter.com/StuckOnYouTweet
au.pinterest.com/StuckonYouAust/

And Don’t Miss Our Back To School Giveaway

Would you like to win a $100 Amazon Gift Card for your back to school shopping?

Back to School Giveaway

Plus… CLICK HERE to enter to win a $200 Amazon Gift Card and 1 year of Trend Micro.

Pin it for Later

12 Tips to Be Super Prepared for Back to School

 

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Stuck on You. All content and opinions are my own.
Written by 5 Minutes for Mom contributor Jennifer Dawn. Jenn blogs about living a beautiful and creative life at The Life of Jennifer Dawn.

Personalized Colored Pencils

Personalized colored pencils

Getting ready for back to school

Personalized school supplies from Stuck on You

Personalized key chain and labels from Stuck on You

Personalized school supply pouch

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136 Comments

  1. Getting ready to go back to school is quite the process, we need to get them back into a better sleep routine and make sure clothes still fit and replace those that are too small or worn

    Reply

  3. we have prepped a couple of lunches over the last couple of days to prepare for the beginning of a new school year.

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  8. Shopping all summer for school items when I do my regular shopping. With multiple school age children. It lightens our load.
    Thanks for the chance.

    Reply

  9. We do our shopping for back to school items in the weeks before school starts and not the day before.

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  10. I treat my boys to a fun day back -to-school shopping where we go for lunch, and buy fun new clothes and school supplies. It is a celebration and a special mother son time for us!

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  16. We have mini school morning drills where we get up at the times we will get up for school, get dressed, eat breakfast and grab backpacks. This way we get a good idea what to expect when school begins and helps them to ease into the new school year routine.

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  17. I start serving my kids lunches in their school bags the week before school to make sure they can open their items independently.

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  19. If you have several kids you are shopping for supplies for – make one master “list” of everything you need at the store. Shuffling between 2,3 or more pieces of paper to see how many pencils each child needs, then how many glue, and so on takes forever, especially since teachers don’t all list the supplies in the same order. Then when you get home with all the bags of stuff – lay it all out and sort it by the individual lists, going through each childs full list at once and grabbing from the pile of purchases. You will regain HOURS of your life.

    Reply

  29. We try to get them more excited and prepared for school by doing light reading and printable activity sheets.

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  30. The best tip is to get an accurate list of supplies your child needs for the class. Get extras when you spot a great deal!

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  31. Going to bed on time, packing lunch the night before, picking out the outfits for the entire week on Sunday.

    Reply

  33. we start preparing early each summer so we don’t have to rush when it gets close to back to school time.

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  34. bottled water, sunblock, caffeine, chocolate any bribe that will work to convince the kids it will be ok to go back to school halfway thru summer when their online friends still have 2 months to go yet

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  35. This will be the first year of us preparing for my son to go to school. My only tip so far is that to email the teacher before the beginning of classes to make them aware of any dietary, allergy, behavioural needs your child may have.

    Reply

  36. We prepare by starting bedtime routine a couple weeks ahead of time and get school supplies ready and have them labeled.

    Reply

  41. Every year I have a plan to get back on track but somehow we never follow it…hopefully this year will be different!!

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  42. A tip that helps us get prepared every year is to get organized during the 2 weeks leading up to school. We have our semi-annual dentist appointments and annual eye exams in August, and we also book in a hair cut for everyone about 1 week before school. We go through the kids’ closets to see if there are any clothes or shoes (including jackets and boots) that may need to be purchased due to growth or wear and tear. We get all our school supply lists checked off (although we are already done that this year, with still 3+ weeks to go, yay!). We check backpacks to make sure they are still useable, ditto for lunch bags and containers. And the weekend before school we stock up the fridge and cupboards with our go-to foods for school snacks and lunches. Then when the first day of school arrives we feel all prepared and not panicked about missing/needing anything.

    Reply

  49. As soon as I spot the back-to-school sales are starting, I stock up. I try to get extras of pencils, erasers, looseleaf, etc in case there is a need partway through the school year when the regular high prices are in place.

    Reply

  51. We start our going to school routine of going to bed earlier and getting up earlier about 3 days before school starts.

    Reply

  53. We start a return to our schedule, going to bed early, getting clothes organized and donating outgrown items to charity.

    Reply

  56. A tip that helps my family prepare for the beginning of a new school year is to start with the bedtime and waking routines about 1 week early.

    Reply

  58. The main thing we do, we start about 4 weeks before school starts. If say the kids have to get up at 6:30 for school, we start 4 weeks before making them get up by 7:30. We back it up 15 minutes each week so when school starts they are ready to get up and get going.

    Reply

  59. Set up a sleep routine a couple weeks before school starts. This helps to make a smooth transition into the school year.

    Reply

  60. We’re going to start getting up and ready for the day at school time for a couple weeks before school starts so we’re ready for the early mornings.

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  61. I used to get things ready the night before, that way no hurrying in the morning. Also a couple of weeks before school start going to bed earlier and waking up earlier.

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  62. We go through clothes and older school supplies to see what is usable and then make lists for Back to school.

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  63. A few weeks before, we gradually start going to be earlier and getting up earlier to get back into school times.

    Reply

  65. We do dentists visits and haircuts before the summer is over and then we start trying to get back on a schedule or routine.

    Reply

  67. We get ready for the school year by preparing ahead of time. Bedtime rituals and times, lunches, packing backpacks, practicing skills, etc. all start a few weeks before school does.

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  70. We start talking about it so they have plenty of time to get used to the idea of going BTS. We also start putting them to bed a little earlier every night. And we also get them excited about BTS shopping, which helps.

    Reply

  72. We start waking them up early like they would be going to school and the whole routine about a week before so they will get moving once school starts. We also get backpacks and clothes together so it is done and nothing is missing.

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  74. Always take advanatage of sales. Keep you r supply list with you at all times. grab things slowly when you find them cheap!

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  75. The last week of summer we try to get bed times back to normal for one

    This year I’d like to freeze up some thermas lunches that week as well this way it’s take it out the night before to defrost

    Reply

  76. Getting a schedule planned out and all the curriculum for the year helps us get ready for a new homeschool year.

    Reply

  78. This is our first school year (kinder). We have just been practicing taking turns and getting school supplies.

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  81. Getting back to the early bedtimes and wake ups a few weeks before school and having them get in the habit of having everything possible ready the night before.

    Reply

  82. When I’m unpacking things at the end of the year, I make a list of things that we need and put it on the fridge. Over the summer, I buy the items as they go on sale. Being organized is key!

    Besos Sarah.

    Reply

  83. by the last week before school starts, I get back into our school routine, I don’t keep them as busy during the day, earlier bed time etc.

    Reply

  85. when the sales start up at Staples for school supplies and Office Depot we start buying them and same with back to school clothes watch for the sales and go shopping

    Reply

  87. the last two weeks of summer we start shedding off a few minutes of bed time so that when school starts it wont be so hard to get to bed early for the school mornings , thats our tip

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  93. We would always get the school supplies ready early so it was one less thing to think about when starting day came close.

    Reply

  95. We start school bedtimes and a schoolday schedule up a week before the kids head back so we are well-rested and adjusted to more structure.

    Reply

  99. My advice is to buy school supplies and start going to bed earlier a few weeks before school starts.

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  100. This year we maintained a normal school day bed time, keep our Dinner Time meals at the same time..hope this helps.

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  102. Around 2 weeks before school starts I have the kids go to bed a little earlier each night and then wake up the time they will be getting up for school.

    Reply

  103. Make sure to look for previous products you already have, sometimes you forget you have things already. Like a pack of unopened markers/sharpies. It’s wise to check before you go back to school shopping.

    Reply

  104. We always try to get more into routine the couple weeks leading up to school. Going out less and making sure to go to bed and wakeup at school times!

    Reply

  105. I find it helpful to “pick away” at the school supply list slowly over the summer, buying a thing here and a thing there, so it doesn’t seem so overwhelming in September!

    Reply

  106. Don’t spend all of your back to school clothes budget before school begins, saving some for growth spurts. You can get by with two or three pairs of neutral jeans that you mix and match with everything. One year my daughter grew 8 inches. We were able to keep up by buying two pairs of jeans each time and a small number of shirts. New shoes were needed, too. You can’t always know when those years are going to happen, but if they don’t, it can be fun doing some shopping here and there to refresh wardrobes. Watch for great sales.

    Reply

  108. We get ready by prepping all the school materials and that’s pretty much it. We relax until the school days come. I get lunch box meal ideas ready and make sure my kids have a snack when they get home.

    Reply

  109. Our school actually has a program through Staples that provides all the neccessity for school supplies on the list and makes it so you can purchase it all online without stepping foot into a store

    Reply

  112. We get the kids on their back to school nighttime routine about 10 days before school starts. This way, there are no more arguments about staying up later on the night before school starts. We do let the kids stay up later through the summer. Thanks for the awesome giveaway opportunity.

    Reply

  115. Starting to get ready the week before, we hold on to summer as long as we can but switching bedtimes back a week early helps the transition

    Reply

  116. We pre-prepare lunches and make sure that our backpacks are ready to go the night before. I hate a rushed school drop off.

    Reply

  120. My advice is to get back on an early sleep schedule, plan outfits and such and set them out the night before, and to do small learning activities with your children even when they aren’t at school and even if it isn’t homework.

    Reply

  123. We start adjusting bedtime to closer to what it is on school nights and we encourage the children to refresh themselves with their school books.

    Reply

  125. A good tip & what always worked for me is to purchase all school supplies & whatever else you need in advance. It makes life so much easier.

    Reply

  126. we start my son by getting him to go back to sleep on his school time bedtime a few weeks before school

    Reply

  127. I always started a week before school started in getting the kids schedules adjusted. Also, going over the bus rules and how to watch for traffic not stopping for the bus is a must.

    Reply

  128. We try to start getting into a routine of going to bed on time and getting up early a couple of weeks before school starts!

    Reply

  132. We start the sleeping schedule a week before it starts. I try to keep a steady for that week so they are better acclimated for it.

    Reply

  133. We start going to bed a little earlier each night as we near the first day. It’s a lot easier than trying to do it the night before.

    Reply