School is starting very soon! It is stressful enough with all of the anticipation of a new class, shopping and more. However, it can be even more stressful when you are trying to get everyone back on track and into your school routine.

We actually do all of these about 2 weeks before our first day and it really makes a difference. It helps their brains focus on the routine that we will have each and every day and gets them use to getting up and getting ready to go!

Plan your shopping trip. See what supplies you have at home before you head out. Might try to save last year’s backpack for a few weeks until they are all on sale. Shop your closet to know what you need. Make a list of the clothes and sizes you should buy for your kids.

Start your Back to School Routine early. Around 7 - 10 days before school starts, you will want to get your kids into this schedule. That means school bedtimes and even waking. Have your kids get up, eat breakfast at their school times and actually be ready to go out the door by the time they would normally leave.

The way we do this is we ease back into that bedtime. For example, if school bedtime is 8:30 and they are up until 9 or 9:30 in the summer, we start to back down bedtime by 10 - 15 minutes each night so that they get use to going to bed a bit earlier.

The same holds true for the morning. If they need to be up at 7 for school, but sleep until 8:30, start to wake them 15 minutes early each day, until they are waking at 7 am.

Create a family calendar that is visible. Talking about all of the school activities and events being on a centrally located calendar that the entire family can view and/or update. That way, everyone will start to watch the calendar and will know what is going on from registration to practices and even that first day of school.

Get papers ready. If you know you have to show residency, vaccinations, health or physical forms when you register, start to work on the list now so that you have it ready when you enroll.

Create a school center. Find an area where you can set backpacks, shoes, coats, etc every day so that they are ready to go in the morning. Each night, get your kids into the habit of putting everything they need there – saves time and chaos in the morning.