Top Ten Thursday - Back to School

Welcome back to Top Ten Thursday! 

Today we're talking about the things that may help smoothen the first day(s) of going back to school, eighter from your retrospective view to you own childhood or for your kid(s) if you're a Mom.

Where has the time gone, this picture was taken on Colin's first day of 1st grade, aaawww, he was so proud! (And me, too.)

First day of 3rd grade - last summer. The orange zip-up hoodie was one of his favorite clothing items, but as you can already tell from this photo, it does not fit anymore this year!

So it's not surprising that one of the things to do is clothes shopping, so let's dive into my list:

1. Depending on the kids' age and skills, clothing above all needs to be comfy and convenient: hard to button shirts of jackets will not be closed, shoelaces vs velcro may be a matter of 5-10 minutes (plus your own sanity)
2. If a completely new chapter starts at school, it may be nice to arrange for playdates with some future classmates while the kids are still on break, so on their first day of school they already have some friends.
3. In order to get ready to get up early in the mornings, start a couple of days before back to school Monday. 
4. A fun way to get them to bed earlier may be to build a sleepover blanket fort and watch a movie in there.
5. "Mise-en-place" I know I talk about it a lot, I do so because for me it's such a life saver: lay out clothes and pack (gym) bags the night before. Saves time and sanity in the morning.
6. Have fun snacks ready.
7. Use lunchbox notes or jokes to brighten your kids' day and let them know you are thinking of them during the day.
8. Practice the morning routine / commute. No matter if it's a walk to the school bus stop or a lengthy drive, do a test run and aim to arrive at the actual time you need to be there: get up, have breakfast, get dressed, leave the house...
9. Make plans for after school. If you can, hold a little homework party for a couple of friends so they have something to look forward to: snacks, homework, play!
10. Award first of school day bracelets

You know what I am thinking right now? I want to be my own kid. I'm a fun Mom. Sometimes.

Anyway. What are the things you do for your kids (or wish your Mom did for you) to make back to school less painful? Let me know down below in comments or link up your own post using the linky-tool.

What's next?

August 17 let's list our top ten movie quotes and either go ahead and explain who said them and why we like them or just leave it to our readers to find out! Sign up here.

The week after (Thursday, August 24) how about a top ten list of random people you were watching? That's right, let's do a perception exercise: 

Go out there to a bus top, a grocery store, a fast food restaurant, a parking lot, and do some people watching. Tell us about ten of them: what were they up to, did they seem happy, why did they make an impression on you,..? Sign up here.