By Janeen Lewis

Summer is a magical time filled with sleeping in, lazy days at the pool and picnics on the patio. Then summer suddenly screeches to a halt, and the new school year becomes a reality. Using a timeline to tackle back-to-school tasks over the summer months can lessen stress and get kids ready for a solid start to the school year. And starting on the right foot paves the way to success the entire year.

Ease into it slowly during the lazy days of summer. Over a long lunch or on a float in the pool (you still want to get the most out of summer!) discuss the upcoming school year. Is your child excited or nervous? Listen closely to your child’s feelings and help set goals for the coming year.

Purge last year’s items. Clean out backpacks and toss worn out or outgrown items. Consign gently used items or have a yard sale. Spend the proceeds on new school items.

Have playdates. Get to know the school community. If your child is starting a new school or feels uncertain about school, have him or her attend day camps at the school. If your child has already been assigned to a class, seek out other families whose children are in the class.

Do the summer reading. Keep minds sharp by getting involved in a summer reading program. If your school requires a specific summer reading list, get started early.

A month before school starts:

Check off health items. Take care of eye exams, teeth cleaning, immunizations, and sports physicals. Designate emergency contacts you will add to your child’s school clinic forms. Decide how you will manage sick days if your child can’t stay home alone.

Designate a family command center. Make space for backpacks, lunch bags, athletic bags, and shoes. Install organizers, hooks, and a communication board so reminders and messages will be in one place. Add a calendar or put a magnetic wipe-off calendar on the fridge.

Create a homework station. Include a plastic caddy or bin organizer with items your child might need for homework like pencils, crayons, markers, colored pencils, wipe-off board and markers, scissors, highlighters, notebook paper, graphing paper, and calculator.

2 weeks before school starts:

Revisit routines. Read books together or watch a fun educational movie before daily homework starts. Go to bed and get up earlier until the first day of school.

Go shopping! New clothes and supplies motivate kids. Study sales flyers and compare prices for the things your child needs. Shop late in the evening or early in the morning when stores are less crowded. Make it a special day by following it with lunch out or a treat.

Practice. Have younger children open and close school items and lunch containers. If your school system offers a practice bus run for primary students, go on a ride along.

Attend Back-To-School Night. Your child can meet the teacher, check out his or her classroom, and see old friends again.

Organize spaces. Make a place for lunch and breakfast items in the refrigerator and pantry. Organize the laundry room with baskets for each child’s school uniforms, sports uniforms, and clothes. Keep a basket in your vehicle with snacks, bottled water, wipes, hand sanitizer, hair ties and anything else needed for all those hectic days of driving between school, work and after-school activities.

Night before school starts:

Prep before bedtime.

Make lunches. Organize backpacks and supplies. Let kids lay out their clothes.

Update the calendar.

Talk to your child about after-school transportation, what their bus number is and remind them of any after-school activities.

First day:

Have a fun photo shoot! Do your annual pose, or let your child brainstorm a new idea. Don’t forget to add a sign with the year.

Celebrate! It can be simple, like a meal at your favorite restaurant or more elaborate, like a special weekend getaway before homework and sporting events start.

Back-to-school can be a blast, not a drag. Model an upbeat attitude about a new school year and see if it catches on with your child as well. 

Janeen Lewis is a writer, first-grade teacher, and mom. A nationally published writer, she has been in Chicken Soup for the Soul: Teacher Tales.