5 Back-To-School Habits to Lock In Before School Starts

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If you haven’t heard, I’m joining in on the Great Lock In trend, but here at TMSAHM, it’s tailored specifically for moms.

We all know how hectic the back-to-school season can be. Especially if you have little ones starting for the first time, or if they’ll be transitioning to a different school this year. If you’ve been feeling a little anxious about how this school year will pan out for your littles, check out these back-to-school prayers that you can pray over them before (and during) the school year.

Now that your heart is a little more at ease, let’s shift our focus back to the five back-to-school habits that we will be locking in on to bring more peace and structure to our school year! I implemented these simple practices a few years ago, and they have been a consistent part of our rhythm during the school year ever since!

Each of these habits work together as a simple system that helps our family to not only survive during the school year, but to thrive.

In this post, I laid the groundwork for what a system is, how systems have helped me thrive, and gave you a few things to consider before you begin to create your own systems!

Quick disclaimer here because I’ve been at this long enough to anticipate potential comments…

I understand that there are many different family dynamics, and I know that not every family can navigate their school days in the same ways that I do. However, these back-to-school habits are meant to serve as inspiration and as a type of framework that you can then tweak and implement in a way that works best with your family dynamic. The ultimate goal is that we are all able to lock in and help our families thrive during the school year.

Sincerely, Your friendly, neighborhood milennial stay-at-home mom

Without further ado, let’s dig right in…

1. No iPads/Video Games During The Week

Look, as much as I would love to be completely screen free during the week, it’s simply not realistic for our family, and honestly, I’m perfectly fine with that. However, aside from the TV, we have a strict “No iPads or Video Games” until Friday rule that we rarely ever waiver from.

I wasn’t always this strict about it, though. In past years, I would allow iPad and video game time once all of their homework and chores were done. Needless to say, that plan didn’t work out so well for us. I noticed an increase in certain behaviors (irritability, melt-downs, etc), and it started to seem as though their listening skills were nonexistent.

For their sake, and mine, I decided to completely cut out the iPad and video games until after school on Friday afternoons. It was a bit of a struggle in the beginning, with I’m bored being one of the primary complaints. However, after about a week or so, when they finally realized that I wasn’t budging on this new rule, things improved significantly.

Now they spend more time playing outside after school and unwinding after a long school day!

The only true exceptions to this rule are school holidays like Labor Day, Thanksgiving Break, etc. I will also allow them to have their iPads on days where we have a Dr. Appt that evening, and on sick days at home (if they feel up to it).

I do have to then make it fair and let my other kiddos enjoy some iPad or video game time if one of their siblings has played theirs on a sick day. I like to convince myself that this is fine though soooo yeah!

That said, it wouldn’t be realistic if it was perfect, but I highly encourage you to add this rule to your aresnal and see how it goes!

2. Homework First

After a long school day, I encourage my kiddos to unpack and relax when they get home. However, after about 20 minutes or so, it’s time to get homework done and then dinner. Yes, dinner. More on that later.

When my oldest started to receive homework every night, I realized very really quickly how beneficial it would be to get homework knocked out as soon as possible. Especially considering how many nights a week we have sports practice or other events.

Homework also includes reading time (15 minutes at least) and a small activity for my youngest (think a puzzle, coloring, blocks, etc).

By making sure homework is out of the way, we can focus on the rest of the evening and avoid an “oops, I forgot to do my homework” moment the night before it’s due.

3. Early Dinner

Okay, I know some of you may roll your eyes at this one, but remember, these are just a few things that I have implemented for my family. Always do what’s best for you and your crew.

HOWEVER…

I have tried all.of.the.things when it comes to dinner time. I’ve tried sticking with a solid 5/5:30pm meal time, but that simply doesn’t work on days when we have extracurricular activities. I’ve also tried to give them a hearty snack before any extracurricular activities and then have dinner afterwards, but that also doesn’t work well for us, and pushes bedtime back more than I would like.

While this hasn’t been perfect, the best decision for our family has been to enjoy an early dinner when they get home from school. This cancels out what used to be a quick ‘after-school snack’ and since they already have a pretty big appetite once they get home, they actually eat all of their dinner (most days anyway…).

This way, we can go to all of our after school activities on a full tummy and then have a yummy snack (or dessert) before bed. Trust me, I know this can be controversial, but it definitely works for us!

4. Strict Bedtime

This back-to-school habit plays a crucial role in how smoothly our weeks go, especially our mornings. We all know how important sleep is for our sweet kiddos, and by enforcing a strict bedtime, we ensure that they are getting all the rest they need.

An added perk is that the rest of our evening is free for us to finish up any tasks that we need to get done, or simply start on our own nightly routine and prepare for the next day.

Now, while I absolutely will not tell you what time to put your kids to sleep, I will say that keeping them on a consistent routine does wonders for how well they can regulate themselves throughout the day.

The only exceptions to our strict bedtime rule are extracurricular activities and events that keep us out later than usual. In those cases, we try our best to quickly complete our nighttime routines and get some zzz’s. I also allow the kids to stay up a little bit later than usual on Friday’s and Saturday’s just because!

5. Prepare For Tomorrow, Tonight

While this is the last habit on my list, it is, and has always been, such a game-changer for me. Growing up, my mom would always prepare our school clothes the night before, and while I didn’t understand it then, I absolutely understand it now.

That said, each night, I prepare all of our clothes for tomorrow – down to the socks and baby girl’s hair bows. I also make sure I take another look at any forms that may need to be turned in to the school the next day. I make sure I sign those and place them back inside their backpacks. I cannot count the number of times I have forgotten to return things to the school, so double-checking the night before helps me tremendously.

One final thing I do to set myself up for success in the mornings is to pre-pack lunches. Yup, pre-pack. Anything that needs to be cold and can be refrigerated goes into lunchboxes and is stored in the fridge. I pack their juices, cut up their fruit, and even their water bottles are prepped with fresh ice and water so that I can just grab and go in the mornings.

Trust me, I know this seems like a lot, but the ease with which I can have everything ready to go in the mornings makes it all worth it.

There you have it!

5 back-to-school habits that have added such peace and ease to our routine.

Feel free to use these habits as a base and then tweak them in a way that works best for your family!

I’m excited to lock in with you this year, and I know that with a solid school routine in place, we will all be off to a great start!

How are you locking in your Back-To-School routine this year?