Getting your kids back to school and adjusting to all of the schedule changes can be a challenge every year. When you’re balancing work and a busy family life, the back-to-school transition always takes a little getting used to for everyone in your family. But parents, don’t worry – we have some help. First, take a look at our back-to-school tips and tech to make your life easier. Then, check out the helpful advice below.
Create a Homework Station or Caddy
When it comes to getting your kids to do their homework willingly, setting up a system and space can help get them motivated. First, start by creating an after-school schedule where your kids come home, enjoy a short break or snack, and then get to work on their homework before they’re allowed to play. Knowing that a reward (playtime) is in store can help to motivate kids to get their homework done, though you may also need to make sure that your kids don’t rush through their homework in order to get the reward.
Younger kids may need certain supplies for their homework, like crayons, scissors, glue, tape, and markers. If you have the space in your home, you can set up a homework station that’s stocked with all of these supplies. Not enough space to create something permanent? This homework caddy idea allows you to keep supplies neat and accessible while being able to store them out of the way when not in use.
Help Kids Stay On-Task with a Homework App
For older children, the myHomework app can help to keep them on task, even when they’re on the go. Students can use the app to:
- Track assignments, tests, projects, and more
- Receive reminders about due dates so they don’t forget about important assignments
- Sync the app between devices, so no matter where they are, they can access their info
Schools can even offer premium myHomework to their students to help them stay organized and get their work in on time.
myHomework is available for both iOS and Android.
Connect with the Teachers
Taking some time to connect with each of your child’s teachers at the beginning of the year can help to make the rest of the year go smoothly. Reach out to teachers or attend parent-teacher conferences and find out information such as:
- How long should your child spend on homework per night, on average?
- What is your child’s schedule like?
- Is there a list of supplies that your child will need for class?
- What are the class rules?
Use an App for Better School Communication
Apps can help teachers and schools to better stay in touch with parents. Suggest that your child’s school or teacher start using an app like Remind. Remind (which is currently used in more than 70% of U.S. public schools) makes it easy for you to get valuable updates from your child’s school. Here are a few ways to use Remind:
- Receive updates from teachers about lessons or homework, so you can follow up with your child at home for cohesive education both at school and at home
- Receive reminders and updates about holidays, special events, and more from your child’s school so you’re always up-to-date
- Create a group of your own to streamline communication with a parent organization
Incorporate Family Dinners Into Your Schedule
Back-to-school time can make for hectic scheduling, but try to incorporate a nightly family dinner into your schedule. Getting together as a family will give you all a chance to reconnect, share news from the day, and spend some quality time together. Plus, having dinner as a family offers any number of additional benefits, including:
- Building your child’s self-esteem
- Lowering your child’s risk of substance abuse
- Decreasing the chance of your child developing eating disorders or becoming obese
- Reducing the risk of depression in your child or teen
Even if you’re not able to manage a family dinner every night, make it a priority whenever possible.
Take Care of Meal Planning with an App
Need ideas for quick, easy, and healthy dinners? Try the Mealtime app. This completely free app allows you to plan your meals for the entire week in just minutes:
- Choose from over 200 personalization options, and filter by factors like allergies, number of people, dislikes, and more
- Go shopping with the automatically generated shopping list so you can grab all of the ingredients you need to make each meal
- Let the app’s recipes guide you through cooking each meal
Mealtime is available for both iOS and Android.
Find Transportation Solutions for Your Kids
If your kids are involved in sports or after-school activities, then you may need to do some extra work in finding ways to get them to and from those activities. Whether you need to get your kids to school, activities, or sports, carpooling may be the perfect solution.
With GoKid, you can easily set up carpools for your kids. You can invite only the parents you trust, communicate through the app’s messaging system, and receive reminders about carpools so you’re never caught off-guard. And, thanks to GoKid’s integration with TeamSnap, you can even see which kids are on your child’s sports team and invite their parents to set up carpools.
The above tips can help to make the back-to-school transition a bit easier for you and your kids. What are some of your favorite back-to-school preparation tips?
