Back To School Routine – 7 Simple Tips

Whenever September comes along, it only means one thing, back to school, which also means establishing a back to school routine. Kids are not the only ones who struggle to adjust when school starts, as a family, everyone needs time to re-adjust and a back to school routine is one of the best ways to do that. If you’re still struggling to create a routine, we hope our back to school routine will serve as a starting point for yours. 

One of the many reasons I am a great advocate of creating a back to school routine is that it helps with staying more organised. When you have routine, your kids will have some structure, you will know what things to prioritise and enjoy a simple life. We all know how crazy back to school can be and even more so when you’re not prepared this is why we recommend introducing a back to school routine in your home.

Simple Tips for Creating A Back To School Routine

Creating a routine is all well and good but one thing to remember is that every family is different and therefore you need to create a routine that works best for your family. As we all know, each academic year almost always comes with its own set of challenges, routines therefore have to match your families needs.

Create a morning routine

What kind of morning routine you create will depend on your family, what time the kids wakeup, what time school starts and how far the school is are all things to fact in as you look to create a morning routine. A simple morning routine that we recommend starts from 7 am in the morning;

• 7.00 wake up, shower and get dressed
• 7.30 Make your bed then eat your breakfast
• 8.00 Double check you have everything and leave for school

Establish a new bedtime routine

Night time routines are just as important as morning routines there it is important you establish one as soon as school starts. Allow the kids to start winding down around 6.30 pm, put away their electronic devices, check their hope and read before bed. Our simple bedtime routine starts from 6pm;

• 1800 if homework has not been done immediately after school then this is the time to start working on your homework 
• 19.00 Eat dinner, put away all electronic devices, start to get ready for bed
• 20.00 Bedtime

Use calendars

I don’t know about you but I love using calendars to plan my day, week or month. With kids back to school, it means many school activities, birthday parties, PTA meetings and much more. We colour code our calendar, pencil in important school events and different colour for birthdays.

Create a Schedule

When it comes to creating schedules its important to have something in place for the first few months of the school year and adjust accordingly. What kind of rough schedule you create is dependant on your family, you can create a schedule whereby the kids need to be up by 7.00 and should leave the house before 8.30.

Meal Plan Weekly

Creating a meal plan is a great way to support the back to school routine you’re creating, knowing what kinds of meals you will have on each day can be fun for the kids as they know what to look forward to. For the parents its nice to have a meal plan and this will help you shop your food wisely

Plan ahead for a better morning

I am a great believer in planning, every night before bed I like to put clothes out for the next time, run the laundry, empty their bags and back essential things that they will need. When you plan ahead, you’re creating more time in the morning to do other things that you wouldn’t otherwise do since you’re always short on time and have to rush everything.

Make it fun

I find that when the kids are involved in creating a routine, it becomes something fun for the kids to do as they feel included. Bedtime and wake-up time shouldn’t be negotiable but everything else they can have input in and choose what they want to do every morning before school and every evening before bed. 

In our house, I am not sure is who more happy to be back to school between the kids and us but none of us are looking forward to the chaotic life this new school season brings. We hope you’ve put together a back to school routine that your family is following.