How Do You Get Ready for a New School Year?

We rounded up our readers' best tips to prepare for back-to-school.

Accept that all my plans are subject to change at any point!

—Claire*

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Since we started homeschooling, I’ve asked my kids to answer the same five questions every year on the first day of school: What’s your favorite book, where would you most like to travel, what do you like to do, what do you like to learn, and what’s your favorite song. I’ve been keeping their responses and plan to bind them to give as a graduation gift.

—Jordan*

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Last year, we set up “work stations” for both kids with desks, shelves, and a file cabinet even though our homeschool is very relaxed. Having a dedicated workspace has made my sons better at following through on some of their big ideas that have previously started with a bang and petered out unfinished over the semester.

—Rachel*

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Write your own rubrics. This is less glamorous and exciting than not-back-to-school parties, but figuring out what you want to accomplish with each child and how you’ll measure your success in accomplishing those ends will pay off for your home- school all year long.

—Juliet*

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Frose! Freeze your fave rose overnight in an ice cube tray, then blend with 1/2 cup chopped strawberries, 4 ounces of Licor 43 (or even golden syrup in a pinch), and a shot of lemon juice until it’s all slushy goodness. It makes everything better.

—Cara*

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I start seeding our reading basket with books related to things we’ll be studying in the fall at the beginning of the summer — when we start “back to school,” the kids have an immediate connection to our lessons.

—Mary Beth*

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Move everything in the school room around. rearranging all the furniture keeps us from getting into a rut and inspires us to try new things — plus, it helps keep at least some of the clutter at bay.

—Alison*

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I try to get play dates and park days on the calendar way in advance — my very social kids look forward to activities, and this way, they don’t get lost in the busy-ness of our school year.

—Valerie*

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I write official break days into the calendar every few weeks. We always seem to fall behind — I think I might be an over-ambitious planner! — and we can get exhausted playing catch-up. Having regular breaks in place helps push us to recalibrate as needed.

—Jenny*

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I like to start each new year by making a list of everything that we’ve accomplished and enjoyed so far. It helps get me in a positive frame of mind and gives me a little confidence boost as I’m figuring out our next moves.

—Courtney*

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The kids and I put together a soundtrack for the year, a combination of songs we love and songs that highlight things we're excited about doing in the coming year. We end up playing it all year long.

—Joy*

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I choose a couple of my favorite art pieces from the previous year and get them professionally framed. (We move the previous year’s art to our hallway gallery or the kids’ rooms.) It’s a fun way to freshen up our school room.

—Emily*

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We make a “snack schedule” so that we can stock the fridge and pantry with get-your-own snacks.

—Cameron*

*last names removed for online publication. This was originally published in the summer 2018 issue of HSL.

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