5 Ways To Get Your Child Ready For Back-To-School
This is a sponsored post by CAPRI SUN. All opinions are our own.
I can’t believe school is almost here and I’ll be honest, I am looking forward to it. We have been working on ways to get the kids in back-to-school mode, so when it’s time to go, they will be ready. Because we have been having so much fun traveling during this summer, I am slowly easing into this mode and trying to make it as fun as possible.
Here are 5 ways to get your child ready for back-to-school that has worked for my family.
1. Head to the local library and check out a new book. Even if your child is not a fan of reading, there are so many ways to make it fun for them. After all, they will have to read in school anyways, so why not encourage them at home. I like to get them books for the school grade they will be starting. We take turns reading a page each or a chapter each to each other. This helps to get them comfortable with reading out loud and practice sounding out words they may not know.
2. Summer is not over yet and carving out time for unstructured play is so important. I’ve seen this help build confidence in my children and let their imagination lead them to the fun they want to have. Some fun ideas to let your children, be well… children is to build forts, climb trees (with supervision of course), go bug hunting, and draw outside with chalk. It’s creative, fun, and a way to build some memories before school starts back up.
My son decided to build a cool house for rollie pollies out of a cardboard box. It was an idea he came up with and constructed the house all on his own. This is a great example of unstructured play as it has allowed him hours of fun, all while letting him be creative.
3. If you haven’t been strict about bedtime during the summer, I am right there with you. While my kids haven’t been going to bed terribly late, it is a lot later than I’d like to admit and it definitely won’t work with their school schedule. Starting to re-introduce a more appropriate bedtime is something that needs to happen now and shouldn’t be delayed. I am not saying start putting them to bed at 7pm when you have been letting them stay up until 10pm every night this summer, but I am saying slowly start getting to that time. One-week make bedtime 9pm, then the next 8pm, etc. By the time school starts, their bodies should be adjusted to a more appropriate bedtime.
4. Letting my kids help choose their back-to-school clothing and accessories has been a huge help in getting them excited for school to start and I encourage you to do the same. It may take longer than just shopping on your own without them, but things like this only happen once a year, so let them show you what they like.
5. Stock up on lunch items now! We buy in large quantities so it lasts us a month or two. It’ll save you the headache later and it’s one less thing you have to worry about while everyone adjusts to the school life and schedules again. We like to head to the store weeks before school starts and get the kids favorite granola bars, bread for sandwiches that we store in the freezer, fruit snacks and drinks. One drink we are definitely stocking up on is CAPRI SUN Organic. It’s Certified USDA Organic, contains one serving of fruit in each pouch (each pouch provides 1/2 cup fruit juice which is one serving of fruit according to the U.S. Dietary Guidelines), is made with 66% fruit juice, no added sugar, is fortified with 100% recommended daily value of vitamin C, and has no artificial colors, flavors or preservatives. A win in my book!