Attention Parents: 5 Easy Tips To Get Organized Before August
I don’t know about you, but when I was a teacher and we got to the fourth of July, I started to feel like the summer would soon be over. Do you feel like that?
Have you been thinking about the new school year coming up and having some moments of panic, like ugh, how will this year go?
If so, you're not alone. It's hard to have smooth sailing into the new school year for a lot of us parents. The good news is it doesn’t have to be this way!
There are some ways we can make it easier and less overwhelming this summer.
5 Easy Organizing Tips
1. Write It Down
Copy important dates from the school calendar to your personal calendar
It can be easy to forget important dates and times when you're juggling the demands of a busy life. Let’s get them all marked down now and that will be a great task to have done!
Where do you go to find out when school vacations are happening? Some parents use their school’s or district’s website to find out important dates.
Do you know other important dates to put in your calendar?
A big mistake I often see is parents getting caught up in everything they have to do every day, that they forget about getting Progress Reports from school.
We don’t want you getting to March and realizing you have only gotten one Progress Report all year and that was in October!
2. Write down the dates during the year when Progress Reports are to be sent home.
Where can you find out when Progress Reports are supposed to go home and when the IEP is due to be reviewed? Check your child’s IEP. If you don’t have a copy handy, you can write the special education director who probably is working this summer and ask for a copy.
P.S. It can also be hard to remember the date when your child's IEP is due for a review. Make sure that this date is on your calendar as well so that there is no confusion.
3. Write down Home-School Communication Dates
Check the language in your child’s IEP. Does it mention home-school communication? If so, does it say how often that will occur? If the IEP does specify the frequency of home-school communication, such as monthly meetings - then write down the dates for the monthly meetings on your calendar.
4. Create a Calendar Central space
If you don’t already have a family calendar hanging up in your house somewhere, you might want to get one. It can be a paper calendar, a white board - a place where important events, meetings, kids’ activities are listed.
There are so many opportunities to use it as part of your child’s education, including math and reading!
5. Update phone numbers and email addresses
This is a must-do for every parent! Keep the phone numbers and email addresses of your child's teachers in your cell phone so they can be easily contacted. This will help if there are urgent concerns that need to be addressed quickly.
These tips will help you create a smooth transition for you and your children as they go back to school this year. Which tip are you going to do first?
Are you interested in some BONUS goodies?
