It’s nearly the end of August and that can only mean one thing- school is starting! (yay!) If this is your first year, or you are a veteran, I thought you could use some points to keep in mind. May you have a wonderful school year. 🙂

Make the first day (or week) special. Fix a special breakfast of pancakes or French toast, get out the books, sharpen pencils, talk about what you are going to do for the year, do a little math and reading. Ask your child(ren) what areas of study would they like to do and plan to incorporate that into your school year.

End the first school day on a happy note. Finish the day with an art project or bake some goodies together. Be sure to take a first day of school picture. It will surprise you as you look back at the end of the year in the spring to see how much your student has grown.

Once you get the first day under your belt, what else is there to keep in mind?

Set a time to begin and a time to end. What time is best for your family? Be sure to keep a set time for everyone to begin school. Also, pick an ending time so that you aren’t doing school until dinner. Everyone needs a break and you should be able to wrap up your day when your student is in elementary school by 12:00 if you begin at 8:00. If you have a kindergartner, your time will be much shorter.

Do math and reading every day. When you stay consistent in these two areas, progress will take place and your student will do well. Of course, the other subjects need to be covered as well, but can be a few days a week instead of each day.

Make school fun. How can you do this? Find something your family enjoys doing and incorporate it into your schedule. One of the things we looked forward to was a read aloud book. You can do this after lunch when everyone is settling into an afternoon routine or do it before bed when your husband can read it to all of you.

Have a great year!