Sit down with your kids on the first week of school and come up with some goals they have that year. Whether it’s read a whole book or learn their times tables, work with each child individually to help them set and reach their goals.

I always loved back to school because my parents would choose a book with me and we would start reading it before bedtime every night. So, pick a book your child wants to read and start it with them the first day of school!

Get your kids’ backpacks cleaned out and organized for the first week of school. Make sure everything is in it every night and help them start preparing it themselves.

You also want to set up and organize a homework station for your kids. You might need the first week to work out any kinks, but have a place your kids can go to do homework with all the supplies they need.

Set a schedule early on in the school year. That means your kids know what time to play, do homework, eat dinner, go to bed, etc. A schedule will help keep things under control.

Also make sure to set expectations for this school year. If you want your child to make their own lunch this year, then make sure they know that and help them follow through with it.

The first week of school can be stressful, so put fun and cute notes in their lunch boxes in order to help calm their nerves. They’ll always look forward to hearing from you!

Getting the paper clutter under control before it becomes to disaster is a must. Get some sort of system going so the paper doesn’t end all over your house.

Create a calendar that everyone can see and access. That way, you’re never surprised by a parent-teacher conference, open house, or anything else again.

I always like to make sure that my kids get an extra special welcome home during their first week of school. I like to have a great snack ready for them and a happy smile since the first week can be kind of hard.