School Daze

Well we're fully into back to school time here in Georgia. The sales are over and the kids are on the bus. I don't know about you but the changes that this time of year brings can be mighty stressful.
Working to get the kids transitioned from summer vacation mode to crack down and study mode can be quite a challenge.

Then there's the adjustment you have to make to you own schedule. Getting the kids to school on time means I have to get up earlier. Checking up on their homework and projects means I end up getting to bed later. I highly cherish the few hours of sleep I get each night and when my sleep gets cut back it creates a lot of stress for me.

Back to school means a return to familiar stressors. Here are some tips that I hope will help:

1. Prepare in advance as much as possible. My little one needs to have her lunch money in every Monday. To prevent the hassle of filling the envelope with exact change and then filling out the information on the outside of it I've prepared pre-printed labels and stuck them on enough envelopes to last the entire school year. I keep four weeks worth of envelopes on my desk at any given time. On Sunday evenings I grab one and place it in her book bag. I then fill the next one with the proper funds. I try to keep four envelopes full at all times. This gives me a reserve for those times when I don't have the exact change or for those times when the oldest one remembers a last minute fee he needs for his classes.

2. Lay the next day's clothing out the night before to prevent dressing headaches. If you have a fussy fashion dresser like I do this tip will save you a lot of hassles in the morning. With your child at your side pick out the clothes that she will wear the next day. Secure a commitment from her that this is what she will wear the next day. This extinguishes the time waster of battling with your child over what goes with what, etc. Unless there have been drastic changes in the weather overnight do not compromise. “We agreed last night that this is what you will wear and we are sticking to that agreement.”

3. To avoid homework hassles encourage your children to complete their homework as soon as they get home (perhaps after a little snack). Then and only then does the TV or Nintendo come on. If your child is in an after school daycare program encourage him/her to work on it there. Then all you have to do is check it when you get home from work (perhaps after a little snack).

4. When the teacher assigns the “big project” your kids may have the habit of turning this responsibility into your “big project.” Don’t fall for it. It's OK to assist your child but don't fall victim to taking the project over unless, of course, you like working on “big projects” while your child is watching TV or playing Nintendo. Encourage your child to work independently and only help when they need bailing out. This will help them throughout their lives.

5. Communicate with your child's teachers from the get go. I make it a point to meet my children's teachers or communicate with them in some way in advance of them starting school. I let them know how important my child's education is and that I am grateful for their assistance in this process. I ask them to call me at the first time they encounter any trouble or difficulty with my child whether it be with their behavior or their academics. I give them my work phone, my cell phone and my home phone and ask them to call at any time with any issue no matter how small. This will help prevent little problems from becoming big problems. Also, it will help prevent your child from being labeled as a problem child in his school records.

6. Don't fall prey to the guilt-mongering PTA/band/team sales drives for candy, wrapping paper, junk, etc. Kids don't sell this stuff nowadays -- their parents do! We're too afraid to allow our children to sell door-to-door in our own neighborhoods even if they can win a giant stuffed Snoopy for selling the most boxes of overpriced chocolates. I don't have time to float that order sheet around at work. Instead, I just make a cash donation to the school or organization or buy the items that they need. If I give a check for $20 the school receives the full $20. If I buy $20 worth of candy more than half of it goes to a distributor. Either way I'm out 20 bucks, but doing it my way saves time and gives a greater benefit to the school.