This is the time of year we gear up to start school.
One of my preparations is to stock up on notebooks, construction paper, pens, pencils, crayons, markers, etc this time of year. It’s usually never cheaper than it is now. I just found spiral notebooks for $.17 each at Walmart. When my kids were little, they absolutely loved to see me come home with bags full of school supplies! Watch the sales for the next couple weeks and you can get all your supplies for next to nothing.
If you have preschoolers, this is the time of year to prepare special activities you can use for their “school”. They loved to have their own special markers, notebooks, crayons, paint sets. puzzles, and fun books. I always prepared a multitude of activities to occupy them profitably when then the other kids would be doing school. I would save these activities just for school time and not give them free access to them the rest of the day. A special favorite with my kids was when I would cut shapes out of construction paper and then let little ones “glue” them down using glue sticks. Another thing I would prepare is a box of objects for tracing, things like jar lids, popsicle sticks, cookie cutters, coins, erasers- all sorts of objects. If you need more to inspire you, check out Schooltime Activities for Preschoolers on our website.
This is also the time of year I reassigned chores for our household. I keep a running list of everything in our house that needs to be a regular chore. Each summer I evaluate to see who is the best person to do each chore, assigning each child and myself certain tasks. Then I like to train them thoroughly how to do the tasks assigned to them as they won’t just automatically know how to do it. Everyone keeps the same chores for the next year which helps our school time to go a lot more smoothly.
Last but not least, plan to do something just for fun with your family before the school year begins. Have a cookout , hike in the mountains, go to the beach for a day or visit a museum. Make the end of the summer memorable every year for your family. Plan throughout the year to just schedule in some fun days! You’ll be glad you did. They won’t be little forever.
~Marilyn
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