Well, it’s that time of year again.
The summer’s over. School is here. If your family is anything like mine, the kids are not looking forward to it. I mean, the summer has been one fun, friend-filled week after another. But now it’s time to go back to school.
To help you make a successful transition from summer’s lazy days to school’s crazy classes, here are a few tips and opportunities to save your mind and your wallet:
Nail down a routine
Every family is different, so what that routine turns out to be will be all up to you. But a week before school starts, this is what should be taking place at our house:
- School hours bedtime
- Lay out clothes for the next day
- Morning breakfast together
- Complete the lunch calendar for the week
After school starts we add:
- Ensure all homework is complete
- Make sure extra curricular practices are taking place
- No video games during the school week
- No more than 90 minutes of TV per day
Stay Connected
It’s really important to stay connected during the school year. The summer is ripe with family fun and activities, but once the school year gets started, those family times are few and far between. Life is now devoted to homework and baseball practice. Here are a few ideas to stay connected:
- Morning breakfast together
- Dinner 3-4 times a week
- Weekly family night
Back to school not only wreaks havoc on your family routine and connection, but it can also hit you where it hurts the most, the wallet. Here are a few ways to save on back to school purchases along with a few scholarship opportunities.
- Tax Free Weekend – Many states offer one to two weekends a year when you may make purchases without incurring state tax! Yahoo!
If you regularly win the lottery, or not, here are some sweepstakes that are doling out big bucks for college tuition – or whatever:
- You could win $30,000 in college tuition
- Win a $1,000 shopping spree for yourself and your school
- Sing your way to $25,000 for your school
- Who couldn’t use an extra $1,000 to sassify their dorm? Hmm?
- I’ll take Walmart for $2500 please Alex. Oh, and yeah, $2,499 from a bunch of other folks!
BMWK, do you have any back to school tips to share? Do tell, do tell!
Thanks!!!
I found this to be very helpful for parents. With work, school, family, life and all that entails, it helps to have information like this available.
Thanks Lynn. Glad you enjoyed it!