Colorful pencils and stationery on a school desk and open blank notebook, back to school concept, flat
The school year starts this week in several counties in Georgia. I can’t believe it. What happened to summer vacation lasting until after Labor Day? I know that schools in the south get out for the summer in mid-May and go back in session in August. I’m originally from the northeast so this seems very early to me.
My local grocery store has started stocking pens, pencils, assorted spiral notebooks and a few school supply organizers for those needing to grab a few necessary items.
Office supply stores are stocked full of every imaginable school supply and are having huge sales! Department stores are advertising special savings on back to school clothes.
I admit I still have a summer vacation mindset. I’m not ready to have to navigate heavier traffic because school is back in session. Nor am I ready for all the activities that come with the end of summer vacation.
Groups I’m involved with have taken the summer off and will now resume their meeting schedules. People will begin to get ready for the even busier fall season and upcoming holidays. Wow! I know that I have lots of commitments in the coming months, I was just enjoying the last few relaxing weeks (at least, I thought I had weeks left) of summer vacation.
Since this busy season is starting up, I decided to repost a wonderful article which talks about some great shortcuts when doing household chores. My personal favorite is the hack for making sure your furniture isn’t covered with pet hair. I have 2 adorable dogs which like to snuggle up on the furniture – usually when I’m not home. Since they shed like crazy this shortcut has saved me lots of time. Click here to read the article.
Are you getting your children ready to go back to school?
You probably have a list of things to get. I’d like to add one more. I recommend getting your student a paper planner made just for students. Although, I happily admit I have recommended it for some of my clients who are not students.
Did you know that paper planners are making a huge comeback? Click here to read an article about paper planners.
This article references planners for adults. There is a student planner which has won the Family Circle Award of excellence in 2016 and 2018. It is a wonderful planner for students of all ages. It was developed by an organizer friend of mine, Leslie Josel. Her company is Order Out of Chaos. This planner has space for students to keep track of all their class assignments and it even has space for the student to track their after-school activities. I particularly like this aspect of the planner because it encourages the student to be responsible for themselves. It teaches them to manage their time. There is even space to keep track of weekend activities. Here is a link to Leslie’s website where you can learn more about this fantastic planner.
I hope I’ve given you something to think about as summer vacation winds down and you get ready for this busy season of back to school or back to routine. I’d love to know if one of the simple hacks has saved you time or if the academic planner is a fit for your student.
I’ve always been a paper planner person! Thanks for sharing that article. 🙂 Time to hit the stores to get one for 2019!
I appreciate the pet hair tip! My dog is trained to stay off the furniture but my cat is a lost cause. Come to think of it, my dog sleeps on my bed during the day, so it could come in handy for that too!
I’m with you, Diane. I’m not ready for summer to end. And it’s hard to imagine that kids in your area are already returning to school. Wow! The days of preparing our kids for school are long gone, but I remember them fondly. They setting up their new school supplies (and me too,) going through their clothes to see what still fit or needed replacing, and getting excited about their new teachers and classes. I did notice that our local stores are stocking up and displaying school supplies and while I longer need to buy them for our kids, I couldn’t resist picking up a sparkly-purple 2-pocket folder (or two.) Afterall, you never know when you might need one. 🙂
We have used the academic planner Leslie created for at least 4 years now and my son is taking this year’s copy to college with him. It’s helped him stay organized and I hope it continues to help him in college.
It feels like summer just started! Here in CT, we don’t get out of school until the end of June, so we still have a ways to go. When my kids were little, I hated seeing the “back to school” ads start so soon. That said, stocking up on supplies is a fun way to get excited about the next school year. I love Leslie’s paper planner. I use paper myself, and I think it works very well for students. My daughter tried a digital planning system but came back to her paper planner. Having options that suit every need is nice. The key is to trust and use the one you pick!