Consider throwing a party to celebrate the “end of summer” with a candlelight dinner, back to school shopping, a scavenger hunt to fill kids backpacks, a race to see who can get ready the fastest, or one last sleepover or swim party to kick off the new school year. Whatever “celebration” feels like for you and your family, take the time to make it happen. 

 

Help everyone prepare for the transition from summer to school schedule by having a back-to-school boot camp. The week before school starts, talk through the new schedule as a family and start gradually implementing your school schedule into your day. If your kids have been sleeping in, ease them back into a school day wake up time, and have them get ready in the morning for the day – get dressed, eat, breakfast, pack a lunch, etc. If everyone has been staying up late, bring back a bedtime routine to help prepare for the next day and get to sleep earlier. If screen time has been all day through summer, start to limit the screens a bit more each day. If you can, adjust to your fall sleep routine a week or two before the season starts. Falling asleep and waking up at regular times does wonders for our mood and general health. Typically with the turn of the season, we can add things to our weekly schedules that may impact our sleep routine. Keeping it regular and adjusting to it in advance can be a helpful way to weather the changes well.

 

Use mealtimes to check in with how everyone is feeling. “What were your highlights of the summer?” “What were you most grateful for this season?” “How are our family ethics and desires going to play out this fall?” “What will be new?” “What will be the same?” “What are you looking forward to, and what are you nervous about?” Help everyone work through anxiety by setting some personal goals for the first week and the first semester; write them out and post them somewhere you can all see as a reminder so you can support each other.