Moms…I see you out there!  Aren’t we all just a little stressed?!?!  Ok…wait, if I’m being totally honest… A LOT STRESSED?!?!?!  But don’t worry, today I’m sharing my top back to school tips.

As a former teacher and mom to three girls, Back to School time has always been soooo exciting!! I mean, I LOVE the smell of new crayons and freshly sharpened pencils!

But this year…hmmm…it’s a lot different! I think it is for all of us!!!

No matter what you are choosing for your family in this upcoming school year, there are going to be challenges and new hurdles.  

Welcome to Motherhood, am I right?!?!

In the Spring I thought “well…this too shall pass.  We’ll figure out online learning for the rest of the school year and then everything will get back to normal for next school year.”  When in fact, I feel like it’s about as far from any resemblance of normal as it can be.  

We have children who will be in school learning part time and home part time.  We have children who will be doing all online, virtual learning.  We have children who are going to be doing full time homeschooling.  

They will all carry blessings and challenges.  So let’s take a look at a few of my favorite tips and tools for going back to school. 

My Top Back to School Tips:

#1 Create a Routine

Most kids thrive with routine.  Eating, Playing, Sleeping.  Even with older kiddos now, knowing what comes next is helpful.  Sure it’s great to be willy nilly for a short time but aren’t we all ready for summer vacation to be over and to get back to a normal routine by Labor Day?!?  I know we are.  So even if you are doing virtual learning, a set time for waking up, breakfast, school work, outside time, snack, play time, lunch, afternoon projects, chores, etc is helpful.  The human brain and body have a natural rhythm…and we all have different ones, but if you can tap into when everyone is most productive and create a routine around that, success is sure to follow. 

#2 Create a Dedicated Space or Place

When we have homeschooled in the past and even in the spring, having a dedicated space where they can set up camp is helpful.  Instead of having it spread all over the place and then you get started and can’t find the scissors and glue stick…so you waste 15 minutes searching and they’ve lost interest and then you try to wrangle them back and then they get cranky…see where I’m going here?  Instead, set up a space that is where you store ALL THE THINGS.  And if you don’t have a space, just use totes or crates or containers of some sort to keep the school supplies and materials together that make it easy to move from the dining table or living room floor to a closet when the project or lesson is done.  

Two of our girls need quiet space to learn and focus.  In Hawaii, when Kevin would walk in at the end of the day it would totally disrupt homework time and then it would take me 30 minutes to get them back on track.  And then they were DONE!!  Many tears were shed during that season…from all of us.  But I realized that they couldn’t handle the distraction of family life while trying to focus.  So we tweaked the schedule a little, started homework right after snack time, and saved the reading for bedtime.  Voila….problem solved!!! Meanwhile, the other kiddo needs to be watching a movie, music playing, and me cooking dinner to focus….a marching band in the living room might help too!! Hahaha but each child is different, so take that into consideration. 

If you have little ones who aren’t yet doing “school” consider having special activities like coloring or playdough or books that are only for “school time” that they can enjoy right alongside of your home learning with the older kiddos.  This makes them feel included and less likely to cause a ruckus and because they are activities that they get to do only during learning time, it will feel special. 

#3 Sleep Is Important

We all know how important sleep is for resting and healing our bodies.  Now more than ever we need to support our bodies for ultimate immune boosting and sleep is a great place to start.  We see lack of sleep play out in cranky toddlers, grumpy teenagers, and quick tempered moms and dads.  So set a simple bedtime routine to get everyone ready for bed.  I always suggest a great bedtime story, a diffuser with some lavender or peace and calming in it, and lights out.  We’ve always tried to cut down on the electronics at bedtime to let their brains rest and prepare for sleep.  Now as teenagers, bedtime stories are no longer happening…although I totally wish they were…but we still get the diffusers going and try to get in bed at a decent hour.  

#4 Support All The Emotions

We all know that these are trying times. As adults, we feel it and even if our kiddos don’t have words for it, they feel it too.  You might see this play out in tummy aches or headaches (often are emotions that are causing anxiety) or tantrums (they don’t have the words so they simply act out).  Oils can be a GREAT way to support the emotions!!!  We love to use Peace and Calming, Valor, and Stress Away!!!  They can go in the diffuser or be rolled right on!!!  I always say just get them on the body and let them do the work.  

They also work GREAT for MAMAS!!!!!  Need a minute to breathe, rub a little Peace and Calming on the back of your neck.  Feel like screaming at some point, diffuse some Stress Away.  Not sure what you are doing, reach for the Valor.  Use these awesome tools to help support your bodies and theirs. 

#5 Support The Immune System

We should all be working hard to boost our immune systems.  Sleep and diet and exercise are great ways to do that.  But we’ve also added in some wonderful supplements and oils that help to support our immune systems, especially since our girls will be going back to school on a part time basis.   

Here are our list of faves:

-Thieves Oil:   We roll our Thieves roller (it has thieves, lemon, frankincense, and oregano oils in it) on our spines, bottom of our feet, and back of the neck morning and night. We also diffuse just Thieves oil throughout the day and at night during school days. 

-Super C:  this is a GREAT vitamin C supplement for supporting that immune system

-Super B:  vitamin B is another great immune supporter and for overall health

-Lemon, Lavender, and Peppermint:  these are great for seasonal support.  I put these in a roller together with a little fractionated coconut oil.  You can also diffuse these together. 

-Raven Oil:  We diffuse this to help support all things respiratory.  We also add it to a little splotch of coconut oil to make an awesome chest rub!

-Digize Oil:  It’s great for nervous tummies or icky bellies.  

-Frankincense Oil:  This one is sooooo amazing for so many things.  But I love it for diffusing to help with focus and clarity and for encouraging peaceful feelings. 

-Ningxia: This supplement drink is my all time fave for antioxidant boosting and supporting our bodies!!  

There is actually an entire line, KidScents, that is formulated and prediluted just for kids.  So you can check that out if you have little ones!! 

I hope my top back to school tips will help you kickstart your school year off with a bang…no matter what it may look like for your family.  If you have any questions, please message me!! And if you’d love some oily tools for your family to help prepare for the school season, head on over to my YL page (Click Here) and you can get started right away.  I have a TON of goodies that I will send your way and you’ll so enjoy the community that you will be joining!!! We’re a lot of dang fun!!!! 🙂

I pray that we all have grace for our families, our educators, our leaders, and our communities. We are all in this together! 

Blessings,

Corry