With another school year around the corner, it’s time to dust off the cobwebs collecting on the backpacks and lunch boxes tossed in some closet last June and recognize that those “back to school” sales we see just about everywhere are not for “other people” any more but our own kids!

As you collect the necessary back to school supplies from your local stores, you can help your kids considerably by sliding into the back to school features the summer temporarily snatched away.

For the last 2 months, we’ve been in the anti-school year schedule:

• Sleep: Sleep tends to be more free in the summer with later bed times, wake up times and no set schedule.
• Nutrition: Fruits and veggies may be more abundant but people also indulge on more ice cream and treats at barbeques they don’t often eat at other times of year.
• Exercise: Many kids are either not in camp, in “indoor” camps or in sports camps that focus on just one sport and not overall fitness, so kids are actually less active in the summer than in the past.
• Activities and Hobbies: Most kids put on hold the activities they pursue rigorously over the school year – music, art, even some sports.
• Reading: Many schools have reading expectations for the summer so most kids do read each summer.
• Technology: For most kids, especially tweens and teens, they’ve had much more use of technology over the summer than in the school year and likely without the oversight that you’d normally have over the school year.

If you make small tweaks now, by the time school starts in the next few weeks, are kids will feel as if they have the upper hand on the new school year before it even begins. Here are the high points to consider:

• Sleep: You can change your kids’ biological clocks from summer to school  by moving them to an earlier bedtime and having them wake up with an alarm for 3-5 days before the first day of school.
• Nutrition: In addition to needing three meals a day, kids eat healthier when they help make meals. Try that out this month and then continue it in the school year.
• Exercise: Growing kids need daily exercise, even if they play team sports. And, kids who play sports need a break once in a while or they risk overuse injuries.
• Activities and Hobbies: The best rule of thumb is to slide into the school year and see what the work load is like before adding too many new activities, especially if activities are already in place from last year. And, to remind your child it isn’t the end of the world to try something new and drop it if they don’t like the activity or it’s too much for their schedule.
• Technology: Whatever your usual technology plan is for the school year, now is the time to regroup on that and revisit expectations that make sense once homework kicks in.

If you enjoy today while being realistic about tomorrow, tomorrow can be enjoyed much more, even if it is the first day of school!

Preparing for a new school year is always challenging, and always catches even the most organized of parents off guard. In the blink of an eye, summer is over and we’re in school mode again – just like that!

Before you panic, keep in mind that you don’t need to organize the entire school year right now.  To help you get organized, just think

“BACK TO SCHOOL”!

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A child’s backpack is an amazing amalgam of fashion and function. As our children get solidly into elementary school and beyond, the look of the bag becomes as important as what is inside – and perhaps even more so. They must have some sort of magical power because they can hold a seemingly endless array of stuff. Given how large these bags become when fully loaded, it’s not a surprise that few backpacks are actually carried on backs. You’ll see them everywhere else, however: slung over shoulders, pulled on wheels, sitting on the ground, and even airborne. If your children are in any of these categories, then a lifetime of back woes likely has already begun. Continue Reading

Our summer has had some interesting moments. Summer camp had barely begun before our 9 year old daughter threw us a curve ball. “Mom, J is going to sleep away camp this year. You HAVE to let me go next year – otherwise I’ll be the only 5th grader in the entire world not going.” I have to say, while she’s been somewhat of a pneumatic drill on the topic this summer, watching her try to convince us has been quite amusing. She’s tried everything from emailing us to leaving notes around the house to borrowing the overnight camp promotional DVD from here friend. In her mind, She is completely convinced life will stop if she does not go next summer – the first of many such situations we’re sure to face as her preteen years creep in. Somehow, we went from the cat’s meow to yesterday’s news in the blink of an eye. Just goes to show you that just when you think you have your child figured out, they change again…. Continue Reading

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FirstGov for Kids

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Homework Spot

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KidSpace

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Teenspace

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Refdesk.com

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Time For Kids

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Yahooligans – web guide for kids