by Karen Swan
The days of the school drop off are almost upon us again. From the relative calm of easy mornings and relaxed bedtimes, Mothers everywhere begin to dread the last minute, “We have to be out this door in 30 seconds!” stress that creeps in at back to school time.
Stress not, dear parents. We’ve compiled our Top 5 sanity savers to have you and your little people out the door on the first day back to school without the need for so much as a raised voice (or a stiff drink!).
Be Prepared!
More than just a catchy Scouts motto, a little time spent organising all the ‘stuff’ for school can make the difference between a leisurely walk to the bus stop or a frantic race yelling “stop!” as the bus glides past you. Make sure school uniforms are washed and ready to put on. Locate the missing regulation socks! Go on a hunt for the overdue library books! If you need to, lay it all out on a flat surface; if they can see it, they can’t lose it!
Create a designated area at the front door for all the things needed for the day ahead. Attach some hooks to the back of the front door for backpacks, hats and jackets. Put a storage basket out for shoes. If you have space, a picture rail makes a great shelf for school books, folders or any other paperwork that needs to be found quickly. If nothing else, a hook for the car keys could be just the time saver that you need!
Speaking of car keys, how many of us are completely mortified when someone happens to see inside our cars? Somewhere under the sultana boxes, muesli bar wrappers and drink bottles is the ‘thing’ you’ve been looking for. Enlist the kids help and give the car a good once over. Oh, and make sure you’ve got a full tank of petrol!
MamaBake! Gather your friends and give the school holidays a MamaBake send off! Big batch bake a weeks worth of lunch box fare for divvying up amongst you, and while you’re at it, make a few dinners. Let your kids help with the menu planning and preparation. That’ll give you two less things to stress about in the morning when Billy refuses to wear a blue shirt and Molly can’t find her lucky pencil.
Give them time. Do you enjoy that feeling of heading back to work after a lovely relaxing holiday? No, neither do I. So it stands to reason that your kids aren’t thrilled about heading back to school. In the lead up to the term, and in those first few weeks of readjustment, remember to make time to reconnect with your children. You’ll have a stash of dinners in the fridge from MamaBaking, so there’ll be time for an after school walk in the park, a snack at your local café or even just plonking yourselves down on the couch together for a little ‘veg’ time.
What are your best sanity savers for ‘Back to School”?
