1. Make a grab-and-go nook by the door.
You don’t want to be frantically looking for backpacks, shoes and other essentials in the morning while rushing to get everyone out the door. To avoid this chaos, create a small area by your front door for storing shoes, backpacks, coats and anything else your children need to take with them.
This not only makes mornings easier, it makes returning home smoother, too. When children arrive home, they can remove their shoes and hang up their coats right away. This helps prevent mud and dirt from being spread around your home, too.
2. Dedicate a space to homework and projects.
Not many children like doing homework, but you can help in a small way by providing a spot with a desk, good lighting and supplies like pens, pencils, paper and other essentials. Even if it’s just a nook carved out of the living room, a dedicated homework zone can help keep kids on task, and give you the chance to keep an eye on them to ensure the work is being done.
If you work from home, this space can be the same as your home office. Since you won’t be using it much after your work day ends and the kids are home, you can stash your things away and turn the home office over to your children for a bit.
3. Make the bedrooms better for the morning rush.
Getting the kids out of bed before school is one thing; getting them ready to leave is another. To help make the morning rush easier, take the time to organize closets and bedrooms now.
Ensure that school-appropriate clothes are available in your kids’ closets or dressers, so they don’t have to dig through other clothes to find them when they’re in a rush. If your children require special uniforms or outfits for sports or other activities, make sure that these are readily accessible, too.
4. Create a centralized scheduling board.
Rather than trying to keep track of who has to be where, when individually, a centralized house calendar will make everything easier. Put your children’s school schedule, holidays, extracurricular activities and all your work timings, vacations and other important information on this calendar.
Then, put this calendar somewhere highly visible, like in the kitchen or in the living room, so nobody misses it and anybody can add to it as needed. Something like a large whiteboard would work best for this purpose.
5. Keep the kitchen ready for after-school snacking.
Kids are likely to be hungry once they come home, so it’s best to prepare the kitchen ahead of time. This is especially important if you aren’t due home until after the kids arrive. So, stock the pantry with some easy, low-mess snacks they can grab and go.
If your kitchen has a large island, this could be a good place to lay out some visible snacking options, so your kids don’t make a mess rummaging through shelves or the fridge. Otherwise, select a shelf or cabinet as the dedicated after-school snack zone.
Back to school may feel like you’ll get a break from the kids for a little while, but it has its own fair share of challenges, too. With some preparation and planning ahead, though, you can help everything happen more seamlessly.
