5 Back-To-School Prep Ideas To Make Life Easier As A Working Mom

Summer break is ending, and back-to-school prep has officially taken over our household. From shopping for school supplies and clothes to planning school lunches, the back-to-school season can be stressful for working moms. If you have kids starting kindergarten and pre-k for the first time like mine, then there is an added stress level to ensure you have completed everything on your back-to-school checklist.

As a busy working mom, I’m always looking for ways to make my life and, in this case, back-school prep as easy and stress-free as possible. So, in today’s post, I’ll share a few tips that have made me feel less anxious about the new school year!

This is about back-to-school prep to make life easier as a working mom.

Establish Your Morning & Night Routines

We all know the summer can knock kids out of their morning and night routines. As the new school year approaches, it’s time to slowly get the kids back into a routine to ensure they get a good night’s rest and are up and ready for school each morning.

Here are a few things to keep in mind when establishing morning and night routines for back to school:

Morning Routine

Establish a “hard stop” time

This is the time when all morning tasks must be completed, and you must be walking out the door to get them on the bus or to school on time every morning. Once you have this time figured out, you can reverse engineer all other tasks to be out the door in time!

P.S. Don’t forget to factor in time spent in traffic!

Get Ready Time

Determine how long it will take you to get yourself ready ( I always recommend waking up at least 1 hr before your kids), wake your kids to get dressed, shower/wash face, brush teeth, do hair, etc

Related Post- Why You Need a Morning Routine as Work From Home Mom

Family Time

I know mornings can be hectic, but it’s very important to factor in a few minutes of family time to ensure the kids are going to school in a good mood. Sometimes, all they want is a little attention and/or extra love from us, so be sure to add in

Morning Chores

As a work-from-home mom, I know the chores are neverending. Including the kids in the morning, chores helps them learn responsibility and could boost their self-confidence, which would be helpful if you have littles starting school for the first time.

Night Routine

I’m a huge believer that your morning routine actually starts the night before. Plan what needs to be included in your children’s night routine to ensure your morning routine runs smoothly!

Completing the following tasks the night before a school night could help you be as stress-free as possible:

Pick Out School Clothes

Decide if you will allow your kids to pick out their clothes or if you will. If you want to make things easier, you can add this as a task for your Sunday Reset Routine and decide on outfits for the entire week to save time!

I’m happy that my school district requires uniforms for everyone. There isn’t much stress about whether or not I will repeat outfits because the district only allows four colors for tops and bottoms.

Related Post: The Ultimate Sunday Reset Routine As A Working Mom For A Productive Week

Pack School Lunch

If you have a picky eater like me, it’s best to include foods you know your kids will eat to avoid lunchtime drama, but I would also recommend experimenting with a few new foods in small doses. If you haven’t already, I would purchase a bento box! I’ve noticed my kids tend to eat more when presented with more lunch options!

Review Homework

I was one of those kids who loved school; my husband, on the other hand, wasn’t a fan. We both agreed that education is very important in our home, so we will be checking our kids’ bags for homework every day. If the teacher doesn’t assign any, we will. (Sorry, not sorry!). There are too many children that are not reading on grade level and my kids will not be a part of this statistic. I purchased a subscription to Hooked on Phonics for this very reason. 

Bath Time

We are team baths every night over here. I know everyone has different opinions on this, but kids sleep better at night after a bath. Not to mention, after being at school during the day with all the school germs, a bath a night is a MUST!

Begin Back-to-School Shopping

I am one of those moms who does not like the hustle and bustle of last-minute school shopping. I recommend shopping as early as possible to avoid crowds and to get first dibs on hard-to-get items( such as slim sizes). 

I recommend checking your district’s school board website for a school supply list so you can buy all the necessities you need.

My go-to for uniforms has been Target and Children’s Place! They are always having sales, and the clothing holds up well through multiple washes.

Get Organized for Back to School & Setup a Homework Cart

Once you have all your school supplies, it’s time to get organized! I like to label all my kids’ supplies with their names. Since I still have a preschooler, we also need to bring an extra pair of clothes that are labeled with their name. These labels are my favorite. They stick to the kids’ clothes through multiple washes.

I’m also a fan of creating a homework cart with all the essentials your kids will need to complete their homework.

Below are a few essentials to keep stocked in your homework cart:

1. Pencils
2. Crayons
3. Markers
4. Dry Erase Markers
5. Colored pencils
6. Erasers
7. Pencil Sharpener
8. Glue Sticks
9. Notebooks
10. Workbooks ( I use Hooked on Phonics, but you can also pick up a few grade-specific workbooks from Dollar Tree, Walmart, or Target!)
11. Lined dry-erase whiteboard ( to practice writing on lines)

Create a Dropoff Zone

Create a dropoff zone for your kids to hang their backpacks and school shoes so that everything has a designated place. This will help you and your kids keep track of all their belongings, so there’s no rushing to find things in the morning.

Create a Family Calendar

As a busy working mom, things can get hectic very quickly! Creating a family calendar will help keep track of all the school events, doctor appointments, after-school activities, and sports! We created a family Google calendar and have a monthly dry-erase calendar on our fridge to keep track of all current events so that nothing gets missed!

This was all about back-to-school prep to make life easier as a working mom.