How to Start the School Year Right from a Former Teacher

 Carolyn J. Braden • 3 Minute Read 

How to Start the School Year Right from a Former Teacher

Going back to school was always quite an event in my home growing up. There was the back to school supply list to fulfill, the shoes to buy, the uniforms to put together. There was also a new schedule to get used to. When I was a teacher, I went through a lot of the same processes and here are some things that worked well to get my school year off to a good start as well as some things I do for others still dealing with back to school.

A cute back to school pic to try with your kiddos

Gift Box of Encouragement and More

My niece and nephew are in high school, and I adapted the “college care package” idea into a back to school gift box. I asked my sister-in-law what their favorite candy was and sent some to them in a big box. They both work super hard in school (my niece is currently 2nd in her class for the best grades and my nephew is in the top 5) and I wanted them to know that their hard work will pay off. I figured a nice little motivational gift would be helpful in starting their school year off right.

The back to school care package for my niece and nephew

You can either put together a box and send it, or add some of the things below to your shopping cart at Walmart.com or Amazon.com and send it to a kid in your life that you love.

Here are the things I added to their box this year and links to buy:

If you order anything from Temu, use this link for 30% off or use my promo code afe55197 for 30% off (for new app users at checkout). I got the joke cards and get lots of other things from Temu as their prices are great. You just have to plan ahead as shipping takes a bit longer than Walmart or Amazon.

A back to school card with my printable flash cards

 If you are gifting things to younger children OR if you know parents may be struggling to afford everything on their back to school list from the school, gift them some things on that list. These are the most needed school supplies, per Walmart’s best seller list for July and August every year (and, as a former teacher, I know these were almost all always on teachers and school lists every year):

Lunchbox joke cards are fun for kids to get in their lunches

Schedule Adjustment

No matter what you do, the sleep schedule in the summer always seems to go bonkers. In my house growing up, we had to start getting back into the school year sleep schedule about two weeks before the school year began. I didn’t love it, but now knowing how important sleep schedules are for your brain and overall well-being (see this article about it from the National Sleep Foundation), it’s something to try earlier than the first day to help the kiddos ease back into the routine.

We use grounding sheets, which help us get better sleep. See us explain them in the 1-minute video above (+ grab the discount code from the video for our favorites from Grounding Well) or watch it on our YouTube channel @carolynjbraden.

Bring smiles to your kids faces with a back to school care package

As a family, you have to make a lot of adjustments to schedules when school starts to accommodate practices, homework, after school clubs and more. Getting yourself on a new routine as an adult early on too is a good idea if you weren’t able to stick to a routine in the summer, despite your work schedule.

When I was a teacher, I tried so hard to make sure I kept a decent routine going for my husband’s sake. He worked year-round and needed to try to keep up with his sleep schedule and we did our best to make that happen.

Fun school supplies helped brighten my day as a kid and as a teacher

Food

Having a great lunch to look forward to is something we like as adults, so kids like it too! Grab a new fun mermaid colored lunch box to put a heart shaped cookie-cutter sandwich in. Grab my cookie cutter sandwich tutorial here and get the story behind my sweet childhood friend’s mom that inspired it. She always added cute notes on paper too and put them in the lunch. I loved seeing the notes as much as my friend.

My nephew loves gummies

Fun

Kids need to know that going back to school can be fun, but it can also be tiring on the brain. If they don’t understand what that tiring feeling feels like, you must tell them so they can recognize it when it happens. You have to give your kids a break from the studying, the sports, the clubs and all the running around that many families do.

I like adding fun activities on flash cards to a bowl and drawing one to give me an idea for something fun to do. I wrote about it here and there are even free printable “fun activity” flash cards in that article you can use with your kids or grandkids too.

Going back to school can be a happy time!

My sister-in-law and brother-in-law love doing family game nights, so adding that to your schedule (and sticking to it!) is something to try. As kids get older, you can continue game night and just update what you play. Playing games is very stimulating for the brain, and many games like Monopoly can help with math and more.

My teenage niece loves gum, so it went in her care package

Fashion

If you are in need of back to school fashion ideas with a shopping guide, we created this one here for you. I didn’t do much back to school fashion shopping from K-8th grade (we had uniforms), but my grandma always made sure I had the exact shoes I wanted so I could be stylish in at least one way.

I loved Tretorn canvas sneakers because they were comfy, washable and matched a lot. I usually only got the one pair for the year and they had to last and Tretorns did. We usually bought them about a 1/2 size too big to help them last the year until I stopped my growth spurts. I bought my own shoes when I started working more in high school, so I had more options then.

A fun back to school photo idea

When I was in high school, I didn’t have a uniform, so I used a lot of my babysitting money and work money (I started officially working at age 15) to buy a few key new pieces at the beginning of the school year. I also was gifted a shopping trip in June every year with my grandma, so I would actually think ahead and buy things in June that would work for back to school time in August. I even drew pictures and made lists in my journal so I would know what to buy and how to piece it together. I was always very organized.

Back to school supplies are fun when colorful

Back Up Plans/Organization

No matter how hard you plan for back to school, sometimes things happen and you fall out of organization. Someone gets sick, someone forgets their homework at home, someone forgets their lunch. When these things happen, it’s a good idea to have a plan in place.

Common School Year Problems and Solutions:

  • If you cannot pick up your child from school if needed, know who can and make sure they understand they are your backup.

  • If you cannot bring your child a forgotten lunch, let them know what to do if that happens (most schools will let them charge a lunch and you can pay for it later if needed).

  • Forgotten homework may just have to remain as forgotten and the child needs to understand the consequence.

  • If the house is super messy because no one is around to clean it up, move some money around (like cancel that Netflix membership that no one is watching and other subscription services) and hire cleaning help. It’s all about priorities and if you need help, and can afford it, get it.

  • If you cannot afford help, make a chore chart and give everyone chores (including adults!). Children often learn by example and by you explaining things to them in a reasonable way (gosh, kids are SO MUCH SMARTER than so many adults understand), so be the good example they need and they’ll follow your lead.

Dogs can miss kids when they go back to school, so give them some extra love during this time too!

Back to school time should be fun, as learning is truly fun. If you plan ahead, the new school year will truly get off to the best start ever and if you keep up with these ideas, the rest of the year will fly by because time flies when you are having fun.

If you loved this article, we know you’ll love this one too:  Why We Love our Hulken Bag (which is my favorite teacher bag + I have a discount code for you for it!)

 Carolyn J. (C.J.) Braden is the owner of Carolyn’s Blooming Creations is a regular contributor and editor for CBC. She has been featured in numerous media publications such as InStyle Magazine, on HGTV, on Bustle.com, and more. She is the author of the books Georgia McMasters in Amethyst Lake Cemetery, How To Be Yourself: 3 Ways To Help You Being You, and the illustrator for the children’s book Bridging Connections. She is a former classroom teacher that now dedicates her life to educating others on how to live their most healthy, creative and happy life. Learn more about her visiting our About Us page.