A Foolproof Mama Formula for an Organized School Year

There is nothing we can do to stop it.

It starts to creep up on you towards the end of July, especially those of us who live in certain regions.

Retailers start tempting us with all that could be because after all this school year will be different.

Or will it?

Each and every school year, I make vows only to watch them wither away each month.

This year will be different.

Why?

This year will be different because I have cracked the code, I found the foolproof mama formula for an organized school year.

Before we get into the details, let me tell you how I set myself up for failure each year.

Let’s start with the food.

Since breakfast is the most important meal of the day, I make lofty goals of cooking breakfast and packing healthy lunches each day. Usually, around the two-week mark, I am back to paying for school breakfast and lunch.

After obsessively viewing Pinterest perfect breakfast foods and bento boxed lunches (which I have already purchased 2 new bento boxes), I glance in my Pinterest feed only to see the most gorgeous, braided hairstyles for girls.

Each year I vow to create fantastic hairstyles for Tween Girl each week. Reality quickly sets in and I realize that I cannot braid, which leads me to accept that there are well-trained professionals who want nothing more than to earn a paycheck by doing your child’s hair.

As if that’s not enough, I have been working on a morning routine for myself since Tween Girl started kindergarten.

Combine that with being more active at her school and you’ve got one mama who is in need of a foolproof plan for an organized school year!

Many parents already know what it takes to make a great and organized school year. Just knowing that isn’t enough though.

We want to raise kids who take responsibility for, not only their education but also for their own well being. Tweens are still like sponges, watching our every move. I want her to know that it’s ok to acknowledge her own imperfections.

So, wanna know my foolproof formula for an organized back to school?

Being honest about my abilities.

That’s it.

Nothing to run out and buy. Nothing you can order from Amazon.

It’s simple, practical, do-able.

I know what I can handle. So, I may not be able to handle being the room parent but I can send in extra school supplies.

I may not be able to kick off the morning breakfast for teachers because I work outside of the home but I can attend the family fit night event later that evening.

I know what I can handle.

So, this year, I am honest about my abilities on having an organized school year. In that honesty, I want Tween Girl to see that “perfection is the enemy of good” (Voltaire).

This year, I will continue my lofty dreams of making those hot breakfasts and perfect lunches. I will join PTA and still send in classroom donations. I will finally wake up and meditate for 10 minutes each morning. And, I will…keep the hairdresser’s phone number on speed dial.

Here’s to a productive school year!

What types of vows do you make about the upcoming school year?