August 27th, 2012: It's back to School in Montgomery County, MD

It's hard to believe that the start of the new school year in Montgomery and Howard County, MD is only a couple weeks away. But there's no way around it .. on August 27th, 2012 it is back to school!

As a mom of a 2nd grader I'm slowly but surely preparing myself for the big day. My daughter is looking forward to it which is making it a lot easier.  But we still have a few items on our back-to-school to-do list and we all need to get back into the groove.

If that sounds familiar, perhaps the following may be helpful to you, too:

•  Stock up: you know you'll run out of glue sticks and erasers quickly and that red crayon always mysteriously disappears. Buy a few more than your school supply list says you'll need, this way you can avoid the evening outings to the drug store.

• Buy those sneakers and new jeans (you know all of them will be too short and too small come August 27th) during Maryland's Tax Holiday. Unfortunately the tax break does not apply to school supplies ...

• Get back into a routine: that may be easier said than done but it is so important in my opinion. During summer break bed time does not have to be kept exactly and my daughter also likes to sleep in in the morning (I taught her well :-) The last week of summer break, however, it is slowly back to school mode in my house.. night by night we get get closer to regular bed time and morning by morning we get closer to regular wake-up time ... by the last weekend we are on schedule.

• Work in some 'work': my daughter likes to read so I don't have to convince her to pick up a book. But I do always have one in the car, too, just in case we get stuck in traffic. I will also ask her to read street names for me or check the price for something at the store.. Now how much money do I need for that gallon of milk and loaf of bread? Works every time. 

• Agree on goals and rewards: this may not be the right thing for everyone but it worked wonders for me and is working well for my daughter, too. I'm not suggesting pressure or stress but focus & realistic goals and a reward for accomplishing those. For example, my daughter gets to pick an item from her wish list if she brings home a good report card .. not a big-ticket item but a doll she's "wanted for her whole life" or a new game for the Leappad.
  

• Review Safety Procedures: this, of course, should be done regularly but if you haven't talked about bullying for some time or what to do when a stranger approaches your child, now may be a good time to do that.  Also, make sure your child knows your address and phone number.
  

Those last 2 weeks will just fly by and the first day of school will be here before we know it .. with all the back-to-school preparations, don't forget to have some fun, too! Celebrating the start of the new school year can ease any nervousness and help your child look forward to the year ahead!