Back-to-school season, it's a mixed bag. For every momma with kids, returning to school after the lazy days of summer brings all. the. emotions. It's not easy! Regardless of whether they're tiny tots or turbulent teens, returning to school brings excitement and a welcomed sense of routine, but with it, the bumps of settling into more structure, a little sadness, and legit grief over another passing season. No doubt about it, the beginning of a new school year can take it out of even the most seasoned mommas. I hope that these tried-and-true tips will help eliminate a few of the back-to-school bumps for your family. Godspeed, fellow moms!

Start Now

If your kids haven't started school, don't wait to implement school day routines. Trust me. I've made that mistake. You know, they stay up until 11 p.m., sleep until 9:30 a.m. one day, then bam, cue the shock and drama of crack of dawn wake-up calls. No way, ease in, wise moms! Begin about two weeks before school to get in the swing of school year sleep schedules. A few days a week, the kids get ready and dressed early rather than lounging in PJs until noon. You braver moms may even consider introducing a bit of light learning (reading, writing, math facts) a week or two before the school year officially begins (I find this is particularly helpful with the younger kids, K-4th grade or so).

Give yourself time in the morning.

It only takes hanging out here at Dashing Dish for about a minute to know that we are big fans and proponents of protecting your meaningful mornings. The reward yielded from even a short amount of quiet time in the morning before the family rouses are simply invaluable. We talk gobs more about this topic on the DD blog.

Five Steps to Developing a Powerful Morning Routine

Tips for Making Mornings Work for You

Top Ten Early Morning Workout Tips

Get them up earlier than you think.

If there's one thing experience has taught me the hard way, it's that the morning routine always takes longer than I think it will. After too many turbulent mornings, I realized that I need to get up earlier than I think I do, and I need to get the kids up earlier than they think they do. Inevitably someone's outfit will fail, or someone's hair will flop. Too many teary sprints to the bus stop taught me this valuable lesson, but I did learn and now err on the side of getting the kids up with plenty time of time to spare—game changer.

Breakfast and lunch

Breakfast and lunch become a big deal come school season. Having time for breakfast in the morning can be tricky, and we all know that what's packed in those lunchboxes matters big time to the kiddos. We have a virtual goldmine of tips, tricks, and recipes for breakfast and lunch ideas on the blog. Here are just a few to get you started.

How to Teach Your Kids to Pack a Healthy Lunch

Tips for Putting Together a Healthy Lunchbox

Creative and Healthy Back-to-School Lunch Ideas

Embrace grace

The truth is that preparedness paves the way for peace. However, regardless of how well planned you are for the start of the school season, there will always be emotional ups and downs. It's a new season for everyone, and it brings growing pains. Every year we start talking about a week before school starts about how we know that there will be many feelings and we need to treat each other with grace and kindness. It doesn't help to tell the other person that they should or shouldn't feel the way they do. Extending grace and understanding during transition is a tremendous gift that everyone can grant each other.