Indiana Hypnosis Center

Hypnosis for Kids: Back to School Prep without Going Bonkers

    Maybe you’re a mom like Jan.  Jan has three kids and back to school time can be crazy for her.  Her family took a vacation in the summer, then soccer season was in full swing with all three kids involved on different teams.

In between practices, she tried to have a day at the movies since they were showing kids movies free every week.  They liked to have a picnic sometimes at the creek and there were trips to the library for stacks of books and videos.

Vacation?  Not for Jan, it was exhausting.

But at the same time, she loved it.  What she DIDN’T love was that school seemed to start so early into their summer and there was a LOT of planning to do with it.  It seemed like she was always behind and then it was school time and she was running around trying to find clothes and shoes and supplies and back packs all in the same day.

Back to school preparation was running her ragged and she wasn’t sleeping so well.

Jan needed a system and schedule to ease her way into the mountain of tasks she was facing and she needed a way to sleep better that wasn’t a pill.

Are you like Jan?  I see a lot of you moms out there who are like her.  I have something for you to make this Back to School the easiest one yet.  It’s my Sweet Back to School Bundle and here’s what it has in it:

* Infographic schedule of what to do and when to do it; all 27 of the Back to School Tips and Tricks grouped by their timing.
* My School Supplies List by Grade
* My Sweet Dreams audio session that helps you sleep through the night like a baby.
* My Cute Labels for Sorting Boxes
* “How Amy Found Her Focus”    My video story for kids.  A hypnosis session that takes children on a magical journey where they find mental focus in their classroom.

Staying calm and focused is key to making it all work.

In this video, I’ll be giving you a list of what to do to prepare your kids to go back to school. And I’ve put all the tips, lists and some extra goodies together in my Sweet Back to School Bundle that’s free to you.

Let’s get started.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE VIDEO directly on YouTube.

 

Ok, begin about a month out from the date school will start.

4 WEEKS OUT

  • Make a BTS guide to help you prepare.

 

Have a special planner or book that you keep just for Back to School.  This is to help you remember what worked well last year so you can do it again next year.  If you’re like me, you think you’ll remember but then you don’t.  Hmmm…oh and remember where you decide to keep it!  I make a file for special events like holidays and Back to School and keep it with all of my receipts for the year.

  • Get your child’s yearly checkup.

  

Kids need to see their doctor before school starts. Why?  There may be vaccines that the school requires before they enter the year.  Also, they are going to need their doctor to sign off on their good health so they can play sports and participate in physical education. If you wait until the week before school, you probably will not get an appointment.

 

  • Prepare for the unexpected.

 

If you work and your child goes to childcare after or before school, you need to have that lined up well before school starts. Daycares often have a waiting list and you might not get in where you think  without a contract or advance notice.
If you are using private daycare such as a sitter or nanny, make sure your plans are all set before August rolls around.
When your primary care is established, then look for back up.  What if your sitter is sick or your daycare is closed on certain days?  Do you have someone to pick up your child if she is sick or injured and needs to leave the school?  If you can’t leave your work to do this, have someone as a backup.
Now’s the time to set up a carpooling group.  Don’t think this is too early.  These groups form up quick and you can only fit so many per car.  Who covers if today’s driver is sick?  Get all the rules settled beforehand and you will have a smooth transition.

 

  • Make an after-school game plan.

Now is the time to think through what will happen when school dismisses for the day.  Does your child ride a bus, ride in a carpool with friends, wait for Grandma for pick up, or walk home?  Decide this now because when your child and you both know what to expect, early on, she can ask you any questions she might think of and you will be confident in your decision by the time classes begin.

 

  • Remember last year & let it guide you.

 

Take what happened last year and decide what worked for you and what didn’t.  If this is the first time you’ve sent your child to school, ask other moms that have been through it to help you.  Use my Back to School Blueprint as an outline and get going!

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3 WEEKS OUT

 

  • Take inventory of supplies.

 

Look over all of your school supplies.  Throw out old dried up markers, broken pencils and crayon stumps.  Make a shopping list of what your child needs you to buy.  Wait a sec!  You don’t have to make a list, I did it for you. I’ve enclosed a handy school supply list for each age from kindergarten to high school within the blog post.

Kindergarten Back to SchoolKINDERGARTEN

Grade 1-3 Back to SchoolElementary School: Grades 1-3

 

Grades 4-5 Back to SchoolElementary School: Grades 4-5

Middle & High School Back to SchoolMiddle School & High School

   7)  Take inventory of clothes, shoes, outerwear like coats, snow pants and boots.

 

Time to empty out that closet and look carefully at each item; then separate.  Have four boxes.

  • Box 1 is for items to hand down to a younger child.
  • Box 2 is for items to donate to your local charity.
  • Box 3 is for items keep.
  • Box 3 is for items to throw away.

Now that you know what you have, you know what you need to buy.

 

  • Remove old clothes from the house; give away, sell or donate.

 

This is very easy because you’ve sorted everything into the boxes and you can load them up to deliver.  Easy peasy!

 

 

  • Clean closets, mud room, and other storage areas.

 

Follow the same method as Step 7.  Sort into boxes and make note of what you will be needing.

 

  • Shop for school clothes while on sale.

 

This is the time of year for big clearance.  Everything that isn’t Back to School must be out of the store.  Back to School takes up all the space in the store.  So all the rest of the clothing is marked down big time.  The last weekend in July almost always see an additional percentage off the mark down price.

Take the time to go and shop all day.  It takes time to sort through markdown racks and try clothes on but it’s worth it.  I bought all my daughter’s prom and dance dresses at this time.  All the dresses were marked waaaaay down. Once I paid $20 for a dress but all the rest I bought for $12 and under.  One year, I let her pick 3 dresses because they were under $10. By the time prom came, I thought she may want a choice and she could give the others away to someone who couldn’t afford one.  She loved having the ability to choose from so many nice clothes that were now in our price range!

TIP: Remember to have a fashion show when you get home!

 

2 WEEKS OUT

 

   11)   Review school material and information and post to your planner.

 

You will get a bundle of materials from your school.  It will have the activity calendar for the whole year.  Take that calendar and post the important dates to you family calendar.  I used to keep a big calendar on my refrigerator where everyone could see family activities.  Post days of early release, holidays, special programs and field trips. Put these in a bright color so you notice them apart from other appointments.

 

      12)     Take a tour of the school, meet the teacher.

When registration day comes, take the time to walk around the school with your child so they can find their room.  Give them the time they need to feel comfortable getting around the building.  Meet their teacher, if you’re able, that day.  Meeting the teacher helps a lot with first day jitters.

 

     13) Practice pick up and drop off.

 

     This is the perfect time to practice the drop off routine and pick up plan with your child.  Let them know where to wait, where there are adults, and what to do if the weather is bad.  Also let them know your plan if they will be going with a caregiver or an after school program.  They will feel secure knowing you have thought ahead and you will feel secure knowing you’ve practiced what to do.

 

   ONE WEEK OUT

 

14) Get back into your sleep routine. 

 

It’s time for your family to start changing from a summer sleep pattern to a school sleep pattern.  Time to start going to bed earlier and getting up earlier.  You really hurt their chances for concentration at school if they are not getting enough sleep. Take the week to ease back into it for the whole family.  Younger children may be ready to use an alarm to wake themselves up.  They can start practicing this week.
If you haven’t already, time to take the phones away from all kids at bedtime, especially teens.  Teens take their phones to bed with them and wake up and check them with every alert.  This starts a very dangerous sleep pattern that hurts concentration, can lead to obesity, and even high blood pressure.  Take their phone at night to your own room for charging and power it down.  They won’t like it but you’re the parent.  You protect their health.

 

15)  Talk through after school plan with your child.

Review that after school plan.  At bedtime may be a good time or while riding in the car but go over it a few times so they are secure in the plan and you are both on the same page.  Make sure your spouse and the older siblings know about it, too.  You might need grandma or a good friend to also have the info.  Make sure your child knows what to do if someone comes up and says you’ve been hurt and you sent that person to get them.

 

16)      Get organized. Make a place for backpacks, lunches, and coats.

 

If you have a mud room or an entryway where you would like coats, shoes and boots to be removed, then make sure it is cleaned up for the start of school.  Is there a tray for wet shoes and snowy boots?  Are there hooks for coats?  Nothing is more frustrating to be ready to leave and a shoe is missing or the coat is nowhere to be found.

 

17) Set up a homework station.        

 

This might be the kitchen table or counter so that you can help with questions while preparing a meal.  It might be a coffee table with some big pillows for sitting.  You might just have a temporary table like a card table that you set up each day and then put away.  It depends on the amount of space you have and the age of the child.  Wherever it is, make it a quiet place without TV or phones so that the work can be accomplished with focus.

 

WEEKEND BEFORE SCHOOL STARTS

 

    18)  Plan out after school snacks.

 

         It’s only a couple of days before your kids come pounding into the house shouting, “I’m hungry!”

Let’s get those after school snacks planned out.  Here are 5 ideas for you to have ready and pre-prepped for the hungry horde.

  1. A) grapes, celery with peanut butter and raisins (ants on a log)
  2. B) chicken breast cut into chunks and cooked in olive oil and butter plus an apple
  3. C) hard boiled eggs with cheese chunks and pear slices
  4. D) bacon and tomato rolled into a lettuce leaf along with a dip,  applesauce
  5. E) Orange slices and shredded turkey with romaine lettuce and cheese

 

   19) Make breakfast ahead like pancakes and freeze.

 

My husband liked to make a special breakfast on the weekend for the kids.  He would alternate French toast and pancakes.  He would make a big pile of them and I would freeze the leftovers for a breakfast during the week.  Or maybe the night you are just too beat to cook, Breakfast for Dinner Night!

You can also cook ahead.  Pancakes and French toast are perfect for it.  But you can also prepare oatmeal the night before and warm it in the morning.

You can make an egg strata (casserole) the night before and pop it in the oven in the morning.

If your family likes omelets, precut ingredients so that in the morning you just assemble.  Here are some omelet add ins you might like; diced tomatoes and  onions, shredded cheese, ham chunks, mushrooms or diced peppers.

 

   20)   Organize your child’s clothes for the entire week. 

 

If you organize your kids’ clothes, mornings will be soooo much easier.  Hang outfits on hangers or roll them together in drawers.  Put the whole outfit together.  So take the shirt and pants and store them together.  If that needs a sweatshirt or sweater, add that to the outfit.  I don’t put underwear or socks with it but you can.  Then the choice is made and no decisions to fight about in the morning.

The outfit way of storing clothes also helps keep matching pieces together. As you rotate them in the drawer or closet, you don’t miss wearing something before your child grows out of it.  It also makes it easier to move along when that clothing no longer fits.

 

  THE NIGHT BEFORE SCHOOL

 

   21)  Check the weather for the next day.

Do a quick check to see if there will be rain, snow, ice or sun.  Just to make sure that the clothes planned will work with the weather.  Also if this will have any effect on you making pickups on time.

 

22) Pick your child’s outfit for the next day.

Now you and your child can pick the clothes for the next day.  You have them all stored my outfit so a selection should be easy.  I suggest you give a couple of choices so your child has a say in the choosing.  Teaching them that they have some control is a good lesson.  They want to be involved.  Give them that self esteem.

 

23)      Pick shoes for the next day.

Having picked out clothes, it’s easy to forget the shoes.  Don’t do it.  Searching for a missing shoe in the morning rush is the  worst!  Put the shoes where you know they can be found.  That might be by the bed, the mudroom or by the breakfast chair.  Just make sure it’s a place where those shoes won’t disappear.

 

24)  Pack lunches.

I used to eat the school lunch but I know a lot of you pack your child’s lunch.  The night before is the time to do this.  Have everything either in the box already or ready to pop in.  You can add an ice pack to keep it fresh.  There are some super cute ones out now.  Stick something fun in with the lunch once in awhile like a note or some stickers.  Yeah, be THAT mom!

 

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL

 

   25)  Take a great picture!

Don’t forget the picture.  First day of school pictures are so fun to look back on.  You’ll cherish this rite of passage as your children grow.  Send the pics to your local drugstore to be made into prints and put one into your planner.  Next year when you pull out the Back to School Planner for next year, you’ll love seeing how your child has changed!

 

   26)  Go home and relax in the quiet!

Yes, the hubbub is over!  You can sit down with a nice coffee and take a breather.  You’ve done it!  You’ve successfully gotten through the craziness of Back to School without losing it, mostly and you deserve a break.  Whew!

 

   27)  Take notes this year to help you next year. 

 

Now get out that planner one more time and write out some notes that will help you next year.  Here are some tips on what to take note of.

A) What went well this year and why?

B) What was a hassle and how can you improve that hassle next year?

C)   What should you add to your list that I left out?  Please tell me what that is so next year’s plan is even better!

D) What was the most fun thing about preparing for the kids to get back to school?

 

Woo Hoo!!  You’ve done it!  You’ve made it through sorting and shopping and planning and bedtimes!  You did it all.

Now, I want to help you.  I made a few things to help you along and because I love you guys, they are free to you!

 

Here’s a list of what you get:
* my Infographic of all 27 of the Back to School Tips and Tricks grouped by their timing

* my 4 Supply Lists for school by age

* my cute Labels for Sorting Boxes

* my  Sweet Dreams audio session to help you sleep through all through the night

* my video reading of How Amy Found Her Focus session for kids to focus at school

boy with backpack walking down a lane -Back to School Bundle - FREE stuff for you and your kids

 

Back to School Blueprint

About the Author Angie J. Hernandez, C.Ht.

A graduate of the Hypnosis Motivation Institute, Angie J. Hernandez, C.Ht., has her private practice in Milford, Indiana. She is certified in hypnotherapy by the Hypnotherapist's Union Local 472. Angie is the author of "Weight Loss Epiphany: The Workbook", "Charlie's Cuddly Animals for Little Geniuses" and "Weight Loss Hypnosis: Lose Weight with Hypnosis Scripts & Recordings". You can find out more about Angie and how to schedule private sessions by calling (574) 658-4686.

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