Summer vacation is always pretty laid back in our house, no matter how hard I try to stick to a schedule. The girls stay up later, sleep in longer, and our days are a lot less structured. Then suddenly the first day of school arrives and everyone is expected to wake up early and get out the door on time.
Over the years, I’ve learned that getting back into a school routine doesn’t have to happen perfectly—or even weeks before school starts. Whether you have a week to prepare or you’re reading this the night before the first day, a few small changes can make the transition from summer to school a little easier for everyone.
5 Ways to Help Your Kids Get Back into a School Routine
Here are five ways we help our kids get back into a school routine each year.
Start with the Bedtime Routine
During the summer, bedtime tends to get later and our normal nighttime routine becomes a lot more relaxed. When school is approaching, we start bringing back the basics: an earlier bedtime, showers at night, teeth brushed, clothes picked out, and everything ready for the next morning.
If possible, start adjusting bedtime a few days before school begins. But if school starts tomorrow and you haven’t done any of this yet, don’t panic! Start tonight and give everyone a little grace during the first week. It can take time for kids (and parents!) to adjust to an earlier schedule again.
Practice the Morning Flow
Summer mornings are all over the place in our house—sometimes we’re on vacation, sometimes we have somewhere to be, and other mornings are a complete free-for-all. School mornings are a different story. We need some kind of structure or everything falls apart!
We’ve always used a checklist system to remind our daughters what needs to be done before we leave for school. Visual reminders are EVERYTHING, especially when everyone is still getting used to the morning routine. The Skylight Calendar has become our best friend because it allows us to use a digital interactive task list (plus rewards!).
And then there is television. If my girls turn on the TV before they’re ready for school, our morning immediately slows down. During the school year we bring back our “No TV Before the Checklist Is Done” rule.
For younger kids, a picture-based routine works really well. Older kids can use a written checklist they can follow independently. Here are examples of both:
Prepare the Night Before
Nothing derails a morning faster than someone yelling, “WHERE ARE MY SHOES?” two minutes before the bus is scheduled to arrive. To hopefully prevent the circus from arriving before school, PREPARE THE NIGHT BEFORE. Get those backpacks packed → water bottles filled → lunches/snacks planned → outfits chosen → shoes located → papers/forms signed → and anything needed for after-school activities ready to go.
Let’s be honest, though… we may begin the school year with the best intentions to always prepare the night before, but we also know this probably won’t be the norm forever. At some point, we lose the thread holding it all together. And that’s okay! Just reset, come back to these tips, and you’ll be back on track.
Give Everyone Time to Adjust
Do you remember how exhausting the first few weeks back to school can be? My kids always come home tired, cranky, HANGRY, overstimulated, etc. It’s important to remember that you don’t need to immediately fill those first few afternoons with after-school activities, homework expectations, and plans. Sometimes they just need a snack and some time to decompress.
Don’t forget this either: your new school year routine will not be perfected the first week. Give everyone – including yourself – time to adjust.
Talk about Going Back to School
Going back to school can bring up a lot of different emotions for kids — excitement, nervousness, sadness that summer is ending, or sometimes all three at once. Every year, I make a point to talk with my daughters about how they’re feeling before the first day.
Instead of immediately trying to reassure them that everything will be fine, I let them tell me what they’re excited about and what they’re worried about. A new school year comes with so many unknowns: a new teacher, different classmates, harder schoolwork, or simply not knowing what the year will look like.
If your school offers a Meet and Greet or an opportunity to visit the classroom before school begins, take advantage of it. Seeing the classroom, meeting the teacher, and knowing where they’re going on the first morning can help take away some of the uncertainty.
We also talk about the things they are looking forward to — seeing friends again, back to school shopping, jumping back into activities they love, and all the possibilities of a fresh school year.
Most importantly, I remind my girls that they don’t have to feel only one way about going back to school. They can be excited for a new year and still be sad that summer is over. I know I am, too.
What If School Starts Tomorrow?
If you’re reading this the night before school starts and haven’t done any of these things yet, you’re not too late. Pick one or two things you can do tonight: lay out everyone’s clothes, pack the backpacks, and aim for a reasonable bedtime.
Then give yourselves some grace during the first week. You don’t have to perfect your school routine before the first bell rings. You’ll figure out what works, what doesn’t, and what needs to change as everyone settles into the new year.
Summer mode doesn’t disappear overnight — and that’s okay.
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