Preparing to Go Back to School

Whether your kids are counting down the days, or they're groaning at the thought of studying the 3 Rs again -- summer is quickly slipping away, and now is the perfect time to begin to plan for the upcoming school year.  Here are 3 tips to ease into the back-to-school routine:

1. Plan ahead.  Stores are already advertising discounts on paper and pencils, and most schools have supply lists posted on their webites.  Shopping early also helps avoid the stress of the mad rush to find those annoying 3-prong pocket folders.  Don't forget to schedule appointments for physicals and get those blue shot forms filled out.  And now's the perfect time to begin shifting your child's sleep schedule to prepare for early school mornings.
2. Delegate, delegate, delegate...  In these final weeks of summer, choose 3 age-appropriate household chores that you can have your child become responsible for and implement a new chore schedule.  Find another parent to share carpool or soccer practice duties with.  Talk to your spouse about taking over dinner duty a couple of nights a week.

3.    Make yourself available.  In the first few weeks after school starts, make sure that you set time aside to check in with your child to see how the transition into the new routine is going -- without putting pressure on yourself or your child.  Take a walk after dinner, read a story together, indulge in a bowl of frozen yogurt and just listen.  Remember that parenting is ultimately about building your relationship with your child, even in the midst of the craziness of a new school year.

--  Yolanda Harper, MSW, ISW 6261

Parenting Support, Counselor

Life Renewal Counseling 813.434.3639   

 

**  Important dates to remember:

8/3/2012 – 8/5/2012 : Sales Tax Holiday

8/20/2012 : Pasco School Begins

8/21/2012 : Hillsborough School Begins

 to Go Back to School