Tips for getting your kids ready for back to school

New backpacks, school supplies, a carefully thought out organization station, and a Mom/daughters tradition -- like so many families, here in the Good Manners Household we've been busy getting ready for Back to School.

It seems like a split second ago that school was out and we were half-heartedly picking through all of the school papers, broken crayons and pencils, books and artwork the Good Manners daughters brought home. Now we're in full gear, checking the new school supply lists against what's still usable from last year and replacing/finding all the new stuff. Two trips to Staples later, I think we also need to swing by Kmart or Target. And we still need a blouse for one and shoes for the other for their first day of school outfits.

This year we upped the ante (and the stress level) a little bit because we decided to let the Good Manners Daughters upgrade their bedrooms. Seemed like a good idea at the time but we're still waiting for one carpet remnant to be bound, and another bed to be delivered. (Hopefully by Halloween we'll be finished.)

But, most importantly, we've been working on organization! We know from sad, past experience that lack of organization makes it hard to be successful! Everyone gave their suggestions how to set up our organization station right were we all come into the house from the garage. I'm hoping since we all came up with it that everyone will enjoy the changes and try to make it work!

The goal was to have the coats, backpacks, shoes, mail, papers, etc., in one place instead of strewn throughout the house the way it usually is! We're putting hooks up for coats and baskets under a narrow table for shoes; we're putting out a boxes on the table for mail, and recycling the mail and underneath we're putting the shredder. The girls should be able to grab everything they need from this one place when we're rushing out the door for the bus. We've put up a black board and cork board so that we can put invitations and notes down there instead of on the refrigerator; we also changed the answering machine location to down there.

Earlier today we set ourselves up on Google Calendars to coordinate our schedules so that Good Manners Dad and I can stay on top of our jobs and our family's busy activities.

Now for the Mother/Daughters tradition -- I took the Good Manners Daughters for dinner and manicures/pedicures! A splurge but something we always enjoy. (And it sure was relaxing after all that last minute organizing!)

After school starts I'll be posting soon with good manners stuff, including updates on my manners-themed books. A new one on table manners is going to be published in October (The kids' and parents', too) Book of Good Sportsmanship is getting a lot of attention with fall sports, and it and It's Time for Good Manners! are perfect for back to school.)

Happy Back to School,

Leslie

I wrote this blog post while participating in the TwitterMoms blogging program to be eligible to get a HarperCollins book set. For more information on how you can participate, click here.

The other moms who participated share their tips on getting their kids ready for school. You should check them out for some great tips for your family too.