My boys are ready and now I've got to get ready for back to school. Here are a few simple tips to keep everyone healthy and at their best for the year! www.themidlifemamas.com

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I have mixed feelings as we get ready for back to school. I’m bursting with pride knowing that my boys have each gained a year of maturity and independence.  But I also love our summers when I have them all to myself, so I’m never quite ready to send them back to school. Pull it together, girl…

I have to make sure the boys are ready too. Leaving the carefree days of summer vacation behind are tough! There are so many things for them to be prepared for with a new school year on the horizon and I’ve got four great ways to get ready for back to school so that we will be at our very best to tackle all of our new challenges!

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My boys are ready and now I've got to get ready for back to school. Here are a few simple tips to keep everyone healthy and at their best for the year! www.spoilmyfamily.com

I love our summers. This summer was wonderful. Lots of time at the pool, time with friends (although never enough), and managing an epic road trip.

They are so great that I’m sad to see them end. My boys will be a little more independent and a little more separated from me once they start the new school year.

Going back to school means new everything for kids! New backpacks, new classrooms, new teachers, new desk, new locker, new books, new bus route, new carpool, new friends, new schedules – new everything!!!

Get ready for back to school with my top four tips:

Get Ready for Back to School with A Celebration

This one sounds like fluff. But trust me here. Check out just a few of the reasons that celebrating back to school is important:

  • Families who celebrate special occasions are more likely to raise kids who have a strong sense of identity, are healthy, have close ties to family members, and succeed in school.

  • The more meaningful older teenagers felt their family rituals were, the more likely they were to have a strong sense of themselves and be able to handle the stresses of going to college freshman year.
  • Families who share the preparations for a family holiday are more likely to continue traditions. In too many families, [mom] does all the work.

(cite unknown) As we get ready for back to school, it seems the perfect time to celebrate all of our accomplishments!

It’s so much more than just an academic step up. Each year they grow and are so much more mature. Each year, their looks foreshadow the grown men they are to become. Back to school is a great time to celebrate our collective milestones. The experiences we’ve had, our brave new milestones, and our growing love as a family.

Each year, we choose the perfect new backpack to share some personality with the world! And then we throw our favorite party of the year!

Post You May Also Like: Choose the Perfect New Backpack

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Get Ready for Back to School Routines

I confess. We have blown bedtime and routines OUT OF THE WATER this year! I know I have to start well ahead of time and move gradually toward regular bedtime. We’ll move bedtime back 10-15 minutes each night until we are where we need to be.

We’ll need to practice our morning routines as well as our evening routine once or twice so that we can get used to them again. This one may be the most difficult for me – I have enjoyed the summer’s lack of schedule. My boys are old enough  now that I got to sleep in every day! Heaven.

Edit: That was my plan. Turned out that they were so exhausted from summer, they were thrilled to go to bed “early” (on time) and we just popped right back into the schedule!

I stumbled upon this great trick for getting bedtime routines back on track: What to Do When Your Bedtime Routine Isn’t Working 

Keep Kids Healthy As They Go Back to School

Wash those little hands as often as possible!!! Our favorite for washing hands is Thieves foaming soap because it gets hands fabulously clean and it smells great! If your children are not crazy about hand washing: make your own rescue soap with either Thieves or Purification essential oil blend.

We also use Thieves Hand Purifier when we need it to keep little (and big!!) hands squeaky clean after we’ve been in contact with other little hands. I also keep a bottle in my car. I just feel like I never really know what might happen in the car. Just sayin’.

We use essential oils in the morning to help us wake up feeling happy and refreshed because some of us…not mentioning any names…are not so much morning people… We use essential oils at bedtime to wind down in a calm and gentle way. And we consistently use essential oils to maintain the healthy immune system that we’ve carried with us through the summer.

My boys are ready and now I've got to get ready for back to school. Here are a few simple tips to keep everyone healthy and at their best for the year! www.spoilmyfamily.com

Back to school with essential oils. Yes, all of these soaps, washes, and essential oils help maintain that smoothly functioning immune system that we’ve been nurturing all summer since we’ve been out of school and on our own.

And they all help get us started in the new school year on the right foot; feeling calmer and more focused on what we’re doing in a complete and joyful way. And you want to know the best thing? You can find all of these oils in one place, and purchase them for 24% off retail!  See how to get started so that you can send your little ones back to school with essential oils too!

Back to School Means Making Lunches *Sigh*

This is probably my least favorite part of back to school. Lunches. Ugh. Here are 150+ Healthy Lunch Ideas for Kids to get you started.

But I have one new trick up my sleeve this year – Real Plans: meal planning that makes life so much easier! This will definitely help on the planning end. Now I just have to get it done the night before or get up early enough to “just do it!”

I  hope these tips transition you back into the school groove as comfortably as possible! I’d love to have you comment and let me know any great back to school tips that you have! Happy new school year!

My boys are ready and now I've got to get ready for back to school. Here are a few simple tips to keep everyone healthy and at their best for the year! www.spoilmyfamily.com

My boys are ready and now I've got to get ready for back to school. Here are a few simple tips to keep everyone healthy and at their best for the year! www.spoilmyfamily.com

What do you do when the bedtime routine isn't working? When we were in a "down," this simple hack did the trick! www.spoilmyfamily.com