Organizing Back to School Schedules

I can’t remember a summer day UNDER 100 degrees! Or a summer day with a good soaking rain, until about two days ago. Whether it was the grace of God, or the weather sensing we needed a little help with our back to school schedules, I woke to a cool 77 degrees after a thunderstorm on MY first day of school.

I’m very thankful and excited to be teaching Creative Writing at my children’s school for the third year. Not so excited to be going back to school in August, but no matter how much I kicked and screamed and fought going back to school, it’s here and so is the stress of the back to school schedules. Each year is unique with its own set of scheduling challenges, but hopefully I’ve learned a thing or two along the way. Here are some ways I try and get back to school schedules organized

Finding the Perfect Calendar

Gone are the days when I can store all appointments and activities in my head. With four kids and multiple activities, I’ve forgotten an appointment or two especially when something missed getting on my calendar. In years past I’ve tried online calendars, but found them too small when I tried to print them out, very visually limiting, and inconvenient since my computer isn’t always with me. Some swear by their phone calendars or apps, and I can see the value of setting an alarm to go off for an important appointment on a busy day, but I prefer a calendar where I can see the week’s activities at a glance!

In the past, a simple dollar store week-at-a glance calendar was sufficient, but this year I considered those huge planners you see really well organized moms walking around with. After glancing at the price tag (anywhere from $20 – $60) and considering the back problems I would have hefting that thing around I found a $10 academic 8 x10 calendar, slim enough to fit in my purse and pretty enough to impress! And the best thing…it was half price this week only!

Color Coding Kids and Activities

When my kids were little I color coded their things. Sippie cups, towels, so why not use the same code to keep track of their activities? Since I’m using a good old fashioned calendar, I stocked up on colored pens and highlighters, grabbed the football, dance, cello, school, and show choir calendars and started recording. Amazing how the stress seemed to disappear once I got everything on the calendar.

Calendar Messaging Central

It’s always been a struggle to keep the family informed about all their activities. I’ve tried three ring notebooks to keep their schedules in, but found they preferred to ask mom when their lessons or games were instead of looking in the notebook. I tried whiteboard calendars, but that was time consuming and had to be updated every month. (I rarely kept it up more than two.) So what’s worked for me is a combo cork board white board messaging center by the garage door.

Since all their activities come with calendars, I simple tack their schedules to the board and when they ask what time their game or lesson is, I have them check the schedule instead of me pulling out my appointment book. Not only does it save me time, but it helps keep me focused and sane.

Whether you homeschool or send your kids packing, back to school schedules are here and the sooner you get organized the better you’ll be to handle the up coming crazy weeks.

Let’s talk! How do you organize your back to school schedules?