I don’t know about you but when it comes time for back-to-school it feels like there are a million things to do and catch before your little one is ready to head out the door for a successful year.

There are normal things like gathering school supplies, getting clothes ready, having a backpack and lunchbox ready with lunch ideas, and simply preparing your little one for a new year with friends and a new teacher. With all that I feel like it’s easy to forget simple things so today I wanted to go over what I’m planning to do in the next week each day before Caroline heads to Kindergarten. Hope this is as helpful to you as it will be for me.

I decided to write out the things I need to do in the order I want to do them. I used to do this on a much deeper level when I was teaching. I would literally write EVERYTHING I needed to do down and I would even take two hours to write out a deep detailed understanding of the first day of school.

Now this list is going to compromise me getting Caroline ready who will be in Kindergarten. I don’t know if it will be the same as next year or the year after. What I do know is these simple tasks will help her to be successful in the year to come and won’t take much time in our day to complete.

Wednesday(one week before school starts)- (Today) This year Caroline is going to be wearing uniforms to school and I want to make sure she feels comfortable going to the bathroom with them. There are buttons that she is not used to that I want her to be comfortable buttoning and unbuttoning independently. Along with the buttons I want her to be comfortable with tucking her tops into her bottoms so we will take the time to practice these today.

Thursday-I plan to wash all of Caroline’s uniforms and make sure they are ironed and ready to go. And with that, I plan to make sure she has enough socks and underwear to make it through the week.

Thursday- While I’m working on Caroline’s clothes I plan to have her wear her school shoes around the house. I want her to break her shoes in this week so I will probably have her wear them to the store too. I don’t want her first day of school to be the day she breaks in her shoes.

Friday- We are going to practice lunch this day. Caroline did half days last year and this year she will be in school for the full day which includes eating lunch at school. As a teacher, I spent so much of my time helping kids open their lunches and snacks so I want Caroline to be prepared.

Friday-Along with preparing for lunch I want Caroline to feel prepared with her backpack. We will practice wearing it and taking out and putting in folders. I will also double-check all her school supplies to make sure we have everything we need and that it’s ready to take to school on Monday for Open House.

Saturday and Sunday I plan for us to spend lots of time together as a family hopefully including a fun beach day.

Monday- We have back-to-school events this day including Open House where we will be bringing some of her school supplies in. After this event or even before I plan to make sure we have gas in our van so we are ready for the week. I also plan to do our weekly grocery trip making sure to pick up anything we want to add to Caroline’s lunch box.

Tuesday- I plan to have a fun day with Caroline swimming and hanging out at home just the three of us while John is at work. We will make sure everything is ready for the next day including my outfit and Kate’s so we are ready to drop Caroline off for her first day! On Tuesday night, I will pack up her lunch and have everything laid out including her first day of school sign.

Wednesday-First day of school! I plan to wake up well before Caroline and get ready so that when she is up I can focus on her getting ready and out the door. I also don’t want to forget her first day of school picture so I will make sure we snag that!

I hope this list of to-do’s/preparation will help ease your mind for back-to-school! This time of year can be filled with so many emotions and thoughts. Praying for all your little ones as they head back to school for safety, friendship, joy, and a mind that is ready to learn! And my love and prayers to you mamas who are excited, nervous, sad, and happy about the back-to-school grind! We got this!

xx,

Holley