It's Back to School Time

Yes, hard to believe it, but as you start to walk around the stores you will notice that notebooks and lunchboxes are here in full force. As a true fall lover and a kid who used to look forward to the start of school, this season bring on only a sense of anticipation. Rather than a season of passing, I always see school as a time of new beginnings. Of course your tween might not feel that way; instead she might dread the arrival of school. But if you’re going to be raising a true girlmogul – independent, confident and bursting with self-esteem, then you certainly want her to be excited about the possibilities of back to school and a fresh new year.
So here are some back to school tips to help your tween start the new school year off on the right foot.
1. Restart the school year schedule 2-3 weeks before school actually starts. You’ll have forgotten how much time it really does take to get everyone dressed, brushed, fed and ready, so start working on waking your daughter up earlier and earlier a few weeks before school starts. Most tweens need 9 or so hours of sleep a day, so calculate how long it will take to get ready in the morning (or how long your daughter is going to need) and work out a wake up time and then a going to bed time.
2. Take some practice runs. Ahh, the lazy days of summer. If you’ve been letting the kids lounge around in PJs or bathing suits all day, without leaving the house, try a few practice runs to get up and out in the mornings by school time. Add a little fun to the adventure by making the destination fun – a trip to the diner or the playground. The point is to remind your daughter how to get up and go.
3. Ready, set, study – Help your tween daughter get ready for back to school by getting her room and desk area set up. You don’t have to sweep away all the reminders of summer, but if her desk is buried under flip flops and sundresses, start to organize and clear away. Assess what school supplies she needs (check the teacher list) and also look for ways to keep the desk clean and organized. As a special back to school project or treat, consider making or buying something new for her desk – a pencil, pen and paper caddy, a new lap, poster or accordion folder. There’s nothing like something new to get a gal excited.

Next up — how to deal with the I don’t want to go to school blues