The Internet is full of suggestions for making the transition from the easy going days of summer to the school schedule a bit smoother. Here are a few you might find helpful:

School Clothes:

• Hand down, donate or toss clothes that  your child will no longer wear and save yourself a lot of early morning grief on school days. Let your child be part of the donation process, helping them to understand that other children may still get wear out of clothes they no longer want to wear.
• Before shopping for school clothes develop a budget with your child so he or she starts learning fiscal responsibility and understands that spending will be limited to the budgeted amount.
• Allow your child to pick out a few outfits you don’t like, but are still school and age appropriate and avoid the hassle of clothes he or she is too uncomfortable to wear that will wind up just hanging in the closet.

School Supplies:

• Before you spend money on new supplies, inventory for what you have and what you need and donate what is still useable to schools or shelters.

School Papers:

• Designate a container, with a label, as the place where all school papers that need a parent’s attention are to be placed and nowhere else. Make sure your child understand it is his or her responsibility to put important school papers in this container and that you will check this spot daily and tend to whatever is in there.

Family Calendar:

• Post a large calendar in a central location.
• Tell everyone old enough to post their own meetings, games, etc.
• Post little one’s appointment as they are made or come in from school.
• Give everyone a different colored marker, making each entry easily identified.

School Homework Area:

• Homework is best done in a well-lit permanent space with a door to shut out distractions and provide quiet space. The space needs shelf space for books, writing space with draws for paper and other supplies.
• If a permanent space is not possible, use a portable organizer or a rolling cart that can be taken from place to place to hold supplies.

Early childhood teachers all seem to agree that getting young children acclimated to a full day of school with new and additional learning demands can be a challenge. The sooner a routine is established, the sooner your child will settle into school.

Is an organization in Florida that is making a substantial difference for teachers and their students in need. They accomplish this by transferring their community’s surplus materials and resources free to teachers for their students who cannot afford to buy needed school supplies.

More than half the students in Central Florida can’t afford lunch let alone school supplies. In many cases, teachers spend between $500-$1,000 of their own money to buy supplies for students and classrooms each year.

A Gift For Teaching’s concept is simple, but so practical: local businesses take unwanted supplies or surplus merchandise that would otherwise get thrown away and donate it for distribution through the Free Stores for teachers. More than 8,673 teachers from Central Florida’s 324 public schools can then “shop” for free to make sure the more than 155,051 students in the community have what they need to learn. (more…)