How To Get In That ‘Back To School’ Routine

Summer is a child’s ultimate break — late night sleepovers, mid-day bike rides, breakfast for lunch, the spontaneity is the height of their off-school experience. The lack of routine during this off time is fun and freeing — and even necessary— but, it makes it hard to return to a firm schedule once back to school rears its head. Alas, like most challenges, all this calls for is some planning ahead.

There are a few things you can do in the weeks leading up to the first day back to the school that can make the transition a lot smoother for you and your children.

We broke down what you can do to ensure an easy transition from the chaos of summer to a regimented back to school routine.

Re-Introduce The Morning Routine

It’s natural for children to want to sleep in after activity-filled summer days. Believe it or not, there is a way to get your children back into the routine without waking them up early on their last precious days off. Instead, when they wake up, get them used to going through motions — encourage them to brush their teeth, shower, and eat breakfast. That way, when the early mornings start, they know exactly how to proceed with their day!

Softly Encourage A Bedtime Routine

It’s hard for children to get excited about school when they know an earlier bedtime is on the horizon— however, preparation for a more structured routine doesn’t mean having to cut summer short. Getting your children back into the feeling of going to bed early is perfect — but try to incorporate the routine softly. Instead of lights out at 8 after a summer of going to bed at 10,  get them showered and into pyjamas by 8:30. Give them reading or TV time before having to go to bed. This helps them get used to getting ready earlier, and bedtime won’t seem like such a harsh change.

Meal Schedule

Considering summer tends to have little routine, sometimes you end up eating breakfast at lunchtime — and that’s totally okay. To better transition into a school schedule, it’s best to try to impose more of a solid eating schedule to not only get them used to eating at certain times but, also getting them used to break up their day. This helps to make their routine well balanced.

Educational Media

Summer means free reign, to not only play outside, but to relax — enjoy playing video games, and watch Netflix. Considering back to school signifies the end of this, it can be challenging to remove all technology. So, instead of saying “no video games” or “no TV,” integrate more educational media. If they are spending an hour playing a game on a smartphone a day, maybe encourage half of that time be dedicated to a more educational mobile-based game like ClassDojo, Headspace or any word game app.  This helps to get children thinking more critically and using their literacy skills before school starts.

Set Up For School

It’s not always easy to get your child excited to forgo their summer adventures for a structured school year. A huge part of preparing them is getting them excited about the change. A great way to do this is to go supply shopping together. After, get them to pack their own pencil case, or get their workstation at home ready in advance. When they personalize their own space it helps make the transition something to look forward too, instead of dread.

Although school is around the corner,  there is still time to register for Flex ED’s upcoming school year. Act now while spots are still available!

What helps you transition your child from summer into the school year? Let us know on our social media channels!