How to encourage your child to have a successful day at school

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The hardest part of my kids going back to school is that there is a good portion of the day that I am not involved in.  Thank God they have always been blessed with amazing teachers, but I’ve found some great ways to still be able to encourage them to have a great, successful day at school.

Make sure they get enough sleep.

It isn’t fair to let our kids go through a whole day of school exhausted.  It’s helpful to enforce consistent bedtimes and they will wake up the best version of themselves, ready to take on the day full of energy.  My kids all go to bed around 8:30 during the school year.  Despite a few battles, they all wake up refreshed and ready to take on the day.

Pack a good lunch with meaning.

I love to pack easy items that don’t take a lot of time to prepare in the mornings. I also love foods that will fuel them throughout the day until they get home.

Some of my favorite picks that we picked up at our local Giant are: Motts® applesauce cups, Jif® Bars (in chocolate), and Smuckers® Uncrustables® Sandwiches.

These Jif bars are insanely good and my youngest 2 want them for every snack and mealtime.  Also, I love the Uncrustables® Sandwiches for an easy item to just throw in a lunchbox.  All you have to do is thaw them from the freezer, unwrap and enjoy!

Something that really inspires my kids during the school day, is finding little notes of encouragement in their lunchboxes.  I like to write notes that praise their strengths and help them think positively in the middle of a busy day.

These notes seem to give them the extra push they need to complete the rest of the day and give it their best. This is a great practice for the 1rst day to calm any nerves and I love to continue this throughout the year.

Right now you can get some money back on a variety of Jiff, Smucker’s and Mott’s products with Ibotta. Deals listed below:

• Buy 1, Get $0.75 Smucker’s Fruit Spreads (9 oz. or larger): http://cbi.as/a09up
• Buy 1, Get $0.75 Jif Peanut Butter (16 oz. or larger): http://cbi.as/a09v9
• Buy 1, Get $0.75 Mott’s Fruit Pouches (8 pk.): http://cbi.as/a09vj
• Buy 1, Get $1.00 Smucker’s Uncrustables Sandwiches (4 ct. or larger): http://cbi.as/a09uf
• Buy 1, Get $0.75 Jif Bars (5 ct.): http://cbi.as/a09uz
• Buy 1, Get $0.50 Mott’s Applesauce Pouches (4 pk. or larger): http://cbi.as/a09vt

You can easily pick these up at any Ahold stores.  This includes: Food Lion, Stop & Shop, Hannaford, Giant Carlisle, Martin’s, Giant Landover, and bfresh.

Run through some skills at home.

Sometimes we do this 10 min before, after school or on the weekend, but running through some math facts or spending some time reading makes all the difference.  It is so helpful with keeping your child focused on what they are learning at school.  Reading every day is a great practice at any age before bedtime but, we also use a variety of computer games and flash cards to keep their minds working and ready for school.

I love finding new ways to encourage my children to have a good day at school. What are some ways that you do this? I would love to hear them in the comments! I hope your child has a great first day and a fantastic school year!

For more on parenting during the school year, check out: “4 questions that will get your kids to talk openly about school.”