I won’t lie. When I was asked to write a blog post for parents sharing advice about staying afloat during the start of the school season, I laughed. Mainly because many parents who will read this have been navigating back to school seasons way longer than I have. In fact, I have never navigated a back-to-school season. This Fall will be my first. My oldest is entering Kindergarten, and I’ll be honest, I have NO IDEA what I’m doing.

So, while I cannot yet share with you my own advice from past experiences of back-to-school seasons, I will share with you advice I hope to implement this Fall from the experiences of parents whom I’ve been blessed to learn from during my tenure on Liquid Family Staff.

Here’s what I’ve taken away from years of watching these wise Mommas and Poppas go before me and pave the way to form some semblance of peace during such a chaotic time for families. Let’s call them the “3 P’s”.

1: PRACTICE

Take this next week to practice your school routine. Set your alarms, go through your routines as if school has already started, and see what works and what doesn’t. Work out those kinks and talk it through with your kids. If anything, simply practice waking up a little bit earlier each morning so you get used to that back-to-school timeframe. This is a simple, yet effective way to get out of the dog days of summer rut and back into the swing of routine. I know for us, ever since the pandemic hit, mornings have become a lazy time. Working from home and not being at school, it’s been very easy to use the mornings to ease our way into the day. So, this step will be a very important one for us to establish a set routine – but I can’t spring it on a 6-year-old on his first day. Talking about it and practicing it will help him (and us) start the year with a lot less anxiety.

2: PAUSE

Put a pause on plans! Particularly in the first week of the school year, as kids get used to the exhaustion of a back-to-school schedule and their minds become overstimulated with information. Our kids will be overloaded messes and they can’t deal with any more than they already have. Don’t plan a night out, not even to celebrate a successful first week of school. Don’t plan that apple picking trip with friends. My gosh, it’s not even fall yet! Just chill… seriously. Order some pizza, put on a movie, and call it a night. I am fully prepared to see many meltdowns from my Kindergartner the first week of school because his little mind and body will be TIRED. Don’t try so hard this week. They’ve tried hard enough for the both of you already.

3: PRAY

One incredible Mom I’ve had the privilege of watching from the sidelines raise her (now older) kiddos always did something each morning that I took note of, knowing I wanted to do the same. She’d read Jesus Calling, a daily devotional book, with her kids. Whether it’s the Bible itself, a YouVersion Bible plan, a devotional like Jesus Calling, etc., choose to slow down the busyness of each morning and take the time to do a devotion or Bible reading with your kids. You can find all sorts of devotional books geared towards different ages that will work for any school-aged child, including this one.

These “3 P’s” are important, but none are more crucial to your day than this final one. Knowing my child is getting onto the bus with a fresh, daily dose of Jesus in his heart brings me more peace than making sure he puts on underwear that morning ever will. So, whether or not your routine is grabbing a GoGurt and rushing out the door, or a 7-step laminated checklist your family must complete before leaving the house, keeping Jesus in said routine is more important than the routine itself.

Remember, Practice a routine. Pause your plans. Pray with your littles.

And no matter what the first two “P’s” look like, may the latter teach them to go with God every single day.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

For more family resources and content, check out the below:

• BIBLE LESSONS FOR KIDS: Every week we have a brand new video Bible lesson for your child. In fact, we have custom content for each age and phase, plus extra videos, resources, and guides to help your kids dive deeper into the content. Click here to go ahead and start exploring!
• PARENT DEVOTIONAL: Parents - we want to help you start your week with a word of encouragement. Text “LIQUIDPARENTS” to 94090 to get our Parent Devotional sent to you by text message each week. Enjoy powerful, honest, and authentic original content written by our staff parents.
• AXIS MEMBERSHIP: Liquid Family has a FREE gift for all our parents - it's an annual Axis Membership. Axis is an online hub that tackles all the tough stuff with a Gospel-centered lens. All you need to do to create your own personal login and free account is click here.