As the summer comes to an end and we start looking towards the upcoming school year, it is easy to feel overwhelmed with all that we need to do as parents to make sure our children have a successful school year. As someone who has spent over a decade working with and in the schools, I have found that planning for the school year makes it a much easier transition for both parents and their children.

Here are seven tips to help!

Tip 1 for School Year Success: Start planning now instead of the night before.

Over the summer, you may have gotten laxer with bedtimes, when you/your kids get up in the morning, and how quickly you/your kids get ready in the morning. To help both parents and children, it is especially important to start going to bed at normal bedtimes as well as getting up when you would expect to once the school year starts. As a mom, I have found my morning routine much easier when I wake before everyone. My goal is to wake up an hour or so before everyone else is. This way, I am able to have some quiet time, get myself ready, and drink a cup of hot coffee before I need to start making breakfast for my kids, getting them dressed for the day, and out the door.

Tip 2 for School Year Success: If it can be done in advance, do it in advance!

I’ve found that the mornings when I’ve set my children’s clothes out, packed lunches, and planned the breakfast menu with my children before they go to bed, tend to result in an easier morning for me and my husband. There is no whining about not wanting to eat what’s been made for breakfast, and I don’t have to worry about making breakfast and packing lunches at the same time.

Tip 3 for School Year Success: Schedule appointments before the school year starts.

While the kids are out from school and there is more flexibility in the schedule, it can be a great time to make appointments to see the pediatrician, dentist, and get a haircut before the school year starts. Plus, when it comes to starting school, it is important to ensure that your child’s health records are up to date and you are able to provide health records to the school.

Tip 4 for School Success: Create a dedicated homework space.

As children get older and are assigned homework, it is particularly important for children to have a dedicated workspace. For younger children, you may want to have them do their homework at the kitchen table. In this instance, it would be helpful to create a dedicated homework bin. Inside the bin, you could keep pencils, a pencil sharpener, markers, crayons, glue, glue sticks, and construction paper to complete homework. For older children who are able to complete their homework independently, you may want to create a dedicated homework space in their room. You would want to make sure that you had a desk with a comfortable chair, good lighting, pencils, pens, paper, and folders. When it comes to homework time, it is important to make it a “phone-free” time. This way, children are less likely to be distracted by texts, call, and/or social media.

Tip 5 for School Year Success: Enjoy 1 last family trip.

Take advantage of the last little bit of summer and plan a fun trip with the whole family. It doesn’t need to be something extravagant. For example, our family lives in Florida and, while we live near the beach, we rarely go to the beach (even though it is less than an hour away). A fun trip for our family would be going to spend a day at the beach. If you live near a zoo, museum, or aquarium, that could be a fun family activity as well. On your last family trip, take a couple of pictures of the family having fun together, print it, and frame it. A great place to display the family picture could be in the designated homework spot. This way, it serves as a reminder of all of the fun that was had over the summer and helps you to look forward to more fun next summer.

Tip 6 for School Success: Create a family calendar.

Whether it’s the first day of school, soccer practice, or play rehearsal, it is so important to have a family calendar. Personally, our family uses a shared calendar on iCal that both myself and my husband have access to and are able to update. When one of us makes changes to the calendar, the other one is immediately notified. As a working mom who travels for my career, this is super helpful! In addition to this, I use a Simplified Planner from Emily Ley to keep track of both personal and professional responsibilities. I love being able to color code my agenda and look at my calendar from a week/month perspective.

Tip 7 for School Success: Have a few easy meals prepped in advance.

When a routine changes, it can take some time for the family to recalibrate and get back into the groove. The start of the school year is no exception. One thing that I have found to be extremely helpful is having a few meals planned out in advance for the first couple of weeks. This way, I can either pull something out of the freezer, get out the crockpot, or throw together a few ingredients in 25 minutes or less and still be able to provide my family with a healthy meal during the school/workweek.