Believe it or not, summer is coming to a close, and soon the local neighborhoods will be filled with school buses and kids with backpacks heading off to class. Many times when parents think of back to school, they think of scouring aisles in the store for school supplies and waiting in long lines to check out. However, there are many other ways to make your life easier as the kids get back into the swing of things. Below you will find some suggestions on things to do as you make your school year preparations.

Scheduling

The beginning of school often means a much faster pace of life and many more things to schedule and keep track of during any given week. As such, it is worthwhile to establish a family calendar and fill it out as much ahead of time as possible. Once your kids know when practices or other activities will be; have them add them to the family calendar. There are a variety of apps and other schedulers that can assist your family with this. In a similar vein, setting up weekly routines can be a massive help in making school year preparations.

Know the Dress Code

Shopping for clothing can be a vital part of school year preparations for older kids but can also be a major pitfall. Before you or your kids go shopping for clothes, make sure you know what the dress code is for the school kid. It is also an excellent idea to talk to your children about the dress code if they are clothing themselves or buying their own clothes. If your kids know the dress code, they are more likely to select clothes that are acceptable for their school. Additionally, if their dress is called into question, they can authoritatively discuss the issue.

Time Savers

Since you already know that time is tight during the school year, make an effort to learn and practice some of these time savers as part of your school year preparations. Speed cleaning is an excellent way to quickly tidy up your home without having to deep clean. The use of menu planning and freezer meals can significantly simplify the answer to the question, “what’s for dinner?” Being able to keep track of all of your kid's school papers is also critical so having a reliable filing system will be an asset to you.