So it’s almost time for a lot of us, (or you’re already back if you’re in Scotland!) and I have a few things to ease you back in to the routine with a little less pain! (If you are doing this for the first time, you will find this post or this one more relevant!)

1. Plan the snacks/packed lunches and dinners for the first week or so, and get the food shop delivered for the day before you go back. This takes the pressure off in the mornings.
2. If the shoes still fit, and don’t look like they’ve been chewed by tigers, don’t worry about a panicked trip to the shops to queue with many many others, give it a week or so and go then.
3. Pack the school bags the night before. This is so so much easier. And put water bottles etc on the counter ready to be filled.
4. Lay out the school uniform the night before too. Including pants, socks, hairbands etc etc.
5. Start the early nights a few days before, and gradually start making the mornings earlier a good few days before too. It can be tempting to make the most of the lies ins for as long as possible but it is far more painful on the day for everyone if you do!
6. If you haven’t been doing it all through the Summer (guilty!), do some reading with your kids, and get them to write things. Letters or postcards to family members or a ‘Summer highlights’ page are a good way to ease them back into into it.
7. Find everything you will need for the first week before you start, piano books, recorders, swim kit, gym gear, trainers etc etc etc. That way you won’t be panicking trying to find something buried under a Summer’s accumulated ‘stuff’! 😀

Most importantly? Just relax, you’ve got this. You will be back into the swing of things before the tan fades. And if you, (as I do every year), start out with high hopes you can’t live up to, don’t sweat it. Mine have survived this far and we have done many many many days of winging it! What would you add to this list? All ideas welcome!

And if you are sending a child with allergies to school, this post will really be reassuring and helpful.