‘Back To School’ is something that excites most parents! But children are not as enthused to see the end of their summer holidays. It is a great idea to prepare yourself and your children for a new academic year by getting some routines in place early. This, along with some ground rules should make for a smooth transaction back into the school routine. Housework instead of homework!
Set A Routine
It is a good idea to begin putting a structure back into the day. Set the alarm for the same time as you would on a school day and try to get the children in the habit of getting up, washed and dressed around the same time each morning. Have meal times around the same time each day but don’t be too strict on this, it isn’t a boot camp! Bedtimes should be consistent and late nights should be kept to a minimum.
Housework
It’s good practise to assign daily household tasks to different individuals and making a rota is a good way of doing this. Things like washing up or loading the dishwasher, vacuuming, watering the plants, dusting or cleaning out the pet are all chores you can get the kids involved with.
Preparing Food
Cooking is something that will always be part of everyday life and it is an important skill for any child to have. You can find many simple and safe recipes for children of all ages online or in cook books. Always make sure you supervise for safety and cleanliness reasons! This could be a task that will take some getting used to for them so start with something simple like preparing breakfast or helping make cakes. Getting your child into the routine of using certain ingredients to create meals at certain times is a good way of setting a routine and building confidence.
Washing
Laundry is never ending when you have children isn’t it? Try to get your children to help with the washing. If they are younger children then perhaps ask them to simply bring their washing down stairs and separate into whites and colours, or help you hang them on the line. Older children can load and start the machines each day after tea for example. Getting your children to help fold and out away washing is also a good skill for them and may even encourage them to be tidier with their school uniform!