20 No-Fail Ways to Streamline Your Back-to-School Routine

The start of a new school year can be filled with excitement and promise, but also nerves and uncertainty, as children — and parents — return to back-to-school routines. It’s important to help children confidently and effectively transition from the carefree days of summer to the more rigid timetable of the school year, including class schedules and bus pick-up times. Here are the tips you need to successfully kick off a new school year.

Set your alarm to go off a few minutes before the kids get up to create a little "me" time. Meditate, read or exercise — whatever clears your mind for the day ahead.

It’s helpful to label school supplies, especially if you’ve got more than one child at home that’s on the way back to school. On Etsy, you can find makers who create brightly colored stick-on labels with your child’s name. These are great for water bottles, pencil cases and lunchboxes. Pro tip: Hold off on labeling supplies that could be community supplies, like crayons, glue sticks and folders, until the kids are back in the classroom.

It’s wise to know what the next school day holds in terms of weather. Will it be wet, cold, windy? Create a weather board or chart so your student can report the weather for the next day. Set a time each night when you and your child will research the next day’s weather. Once your child sets the day’s weather, he can set out what he may need, whether an umbrella, rain boots, snow boots or a warm jacket. This can help reduce morning stress by identifying where weather-related gear is and setting it out the night before.

Print and frame fun versions of your chore list. Hang them where the kids can easily see so they'll stay focused on the task at hand.

These days, many school systems incorporate tablets and laptops, like Chromebooks, into daily school activities, both at home and in the classroom. To be best prepared for the school day, kids need to power up school-use electronic devices at night. Create a central charging station to help reduce clutter and organize devices. Also, set a bedtime for your child’s electronics as a way to help your child wind down and stay off devices when it's time to prepare for bedtime.

Place easy-to-read clocks around the house to help remind kids of what time to have breakfast, brush teeth and be out the door.

As children get ready to head back to school, revisit proper handwashing techniques, including how to effectively scrub hand surfaces and how long to wash hands (at least 20 seconds). It’s easy to make handwashing fun, too. At home, you and your child can make foaming hand soap or squishy soap. You may even want to get your child his own hand towels with his name or monogram. With small children, learn and sing fun handwashing songs.

Make a morning-specific playlist and use it to time your departure. When that final song comes on, everyone will know it's time to jump in the car.

Going back to school can bring about excitement, but it can also bubble up fears, concerns and anxieties. Set aside time each night to chat through what your child is looking forward to and any concerns he may have ahead of the next school day. This can help ensure a more stress-free morning when you know any struggles that may need to be navigated that day. Encourage your child to ask questions and let him know you are there to help him adjust to a new school year.

On Sunday night, plan the week's outfits to avoid any AM drama. Include socks and undies so getting dressed, even for little ones, is super simple.

It can be hard, especially for little ones, to go from school to homework once they get home from school. They need to decompress and give their brains a break. Let your child re-fuel with a healthy snack and time spent outside. Movement and physical activity, especially in fresh air at a local playground or green space, can go a long way toward combatting restlessness and re-energizing after a long day spent at school. Try to take study breaks every 20 to 50 minutes and choose an activity that allows for a brief break, like walking the dog.

Instead of asking children what they'd like to eat each morning, limit them to just a couple of choices. They'll feel like they have a say, and you won't feel like you're running the "International House of Breakfast."

Healthy snacks can be brain-boosting snacks, so make sure to re-fuel your child when she gets home from school. A few energizing snack ideas include veggies and dip, yogurt parfaits, strawberry smoothies, and celery and peanut butter. Think about grab-and-go snacks, too, which are especially good to have on hand if your child needs to make a quick transition from school to an after-school activity, like soccer practice. Consider granola bars, trail mix, dried fruit, mozzarella sticks, fruit and cheese kabobs, and boiled eggs.

Place a brightly colored card in each backpack the night before so forgetting lunch will be practically impossible.

There are so many water bottles to choose from these days — different sizes, different colors, different styles. A fun activity to add to the excitement of the new school year is allowing your child to choose a favorite water bottle to kick off the school year. Proper hydration is important to the success of your student, and an easy way to help ensure your child drinks water throughout the day is by having her choose a fun, colorful water bottle that reflects her style and personality.

Transform even the smallest space into a command center that'll help keep everyone organized and on track by hanging clipboards, frames and corkboards to wrangle important contact information and documents. Add even more functionality with colorful hooks for keys, totes and backpacks.

Many kids have already become accustomed to toting refillable and reusable water bottles to school. But there’s more they can do to be sustainable students, including using reusable lunch containers. Bento boxes, which sort lunches into compartments, reduce single-use plastic sandwich bag waste by organizing a sandwich, chips and fruits or veggies into separate sections. It’s also a cinch to be more eco-friendly by walking or biking to school.

Keep a stash of toothbrushing supplies in the kitchen or near the door so no one has to run across the house to brush up after breakfast.

It can be easy to get distracted from homework when sitting at the kitchen table, mere feet from a brother or sister playing video games or reading a board book aloud. Where possible, children should have a space of their own that’s set up and designated for homework. When they are in this space, they know they are in the homework zone and can concentrate on schoolwork. Ensure this homework space has everything a student needs, like pencils, a pencil sharpener, a desk lamp and a proper desk chair.