Summer is quickly coming to end, and the busyness of another school year is here. When I think of the busyness associated with school, I conjure up one word: UGH, and I’m not referring to the footwear. Here are 5 pitfalls I am trying to avoid this back to school season.

1. Not Planning ahead

Failure to plan just a little bit tends to create a lot of chaos. I don’t even want to guess how many mornings I left the house just praying that everything would fall into line. Truthfully, I can be pretty organized personally. Yet, I get into trouble by not including my children’s school activities, book reports or research paper deadlines.

2. Doing everything by myself

This is going to sound crazy, but for some reason I have this belief that I have to do everything related to school or else they will fail miserably. More than crazy, it is just not true. I need to include them more, especially since they are getting older. Do I really need to pick out their clothes? Can they make sure their backpacks are ready for the day and homework signed? Yes! So why put myself through added stress?

3. Staying disorganized

Every year I start off as organized as an office supply store, and then by the time Winter Break comes I am just as disorganized. Why? Don’t tell anyone….but I tend to make things waaaay too complicated. I need to just throw away the label maker and keep it simple and easy.

4. Not having a Homework Solution

Do I let them watch TV or play with friends before or after homework? Personally, I think this is based on the personality of the child. Some may need to unwind after a long day of school, while others may need to be encouraged to push through to get homework done or else you will never regain their attention.

5. Forgetting to make school fun

There are so many ways to make school fun. I just need to take the extra few minutes to do it. Love notes in their lunches or backpacks or using cookie cutters to make special sandwiches in their lunch.

Now it’s your turn….what back to school pitfalls are you trying to avoid? Or what solutions ave you found that makes the busyness of school easier? I’d love to hear them!

• http://www.nela1989.jgora.pl Odell Quelette

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• http://www.worldofwords.co Fareen

  What a great post!

  I personally love to involve my kids in what they are going to wear the next day — and we do this the night before. So this year, when my son is going to be in the second grade and my daughter in preschool — they will enjoy the process even more since they are more in tune with their own choices.

  Leaving it up to them makes it easier on me too, because then there are no early morning surprises of wanting to wear something else at the last minute.

  ~F