10 Tips for Back to School after Lockdown

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Well the day is fast approaching, and for parents across England at least, we will be spending most of the weekend preparing for the the long await school return on Monday. We’ve located the long forgotten about uniform and PE kit, checked that it still fits (just about), made a mad dash to buy new school pumps or order school shoes online and held our breath when opening the lunchboxes for fear of finding a half eaten rotten sandwich that has been lying in wait since December. Thankfully we manage to avoid that delight!

I personally have so many mixed emotions about the schools returning – whilst home schooling and juggling work has been one hell of a challenge and we’ve had more than our fair share of meltdowns, I will really miss my messy, noisy and super cute little work colleagues and the house is going to feel very quiet without them! It is going to take us all a bit of time to readjust to our new revised routine, so with the aim of making the return as smooth sailing as possible; here are my hints and tips for a stress free return to school after lockdown.

1. Pack the lunchboxes the night before

One thing I definitely haven’t missed is the morning madness. There is nothing worse than the mad rush in the morning; attempting to butter bread for sandwiches whilst simultaneously making breakfast, feeding the dog and shouting at your eldest child to put their socks on. Rah.

To take off the pressure, why not get into the habit of making up the sandwiches the night before so that the lunches are in the fridge ready to go?

We love our Smiggle double layer lunchbox which is ideal not only for storing flatter items like sandwiches and wraps on the bottom, but also a top layer for all the high energy snacks that the kids will need to get them through the day. I’m not sure about you, but my two are going to have one hell of a shock to the system when they go back to school and don’t have the almost constant access to the snack cupboard! I am fully expecting to find two very very hungry children at pick up!

The double layer lunch boxes also come with a handy name label and large over the shoulder strap, which is ideal for children who are doing the school run on foot.

2. Avoid the germs

To reduce the risk of shared cups and germs, I always like to make sure the girls have a really easy to recognise cup – one that stands out and is easily identifiable. I love the girls’ Smiggle choices for this term – Erin went for the new galaxy range water bottle which is covered in sparkly unicorns (what more could a girl want?!) and Neve went for the beautiful purple sloth design pictured above. Both come with an easy flip spout to avoid them touching the part they will be drinking from which is a great way of supporting good hygiene in a school or nursery setting.

3. Prep the Stationery

Like many children across the UK, Erin has been asked to take in their own stationery at the moment because they are unable to share. At Juniors they seem to need quite a bit – including glue, pencil crayons, pencils, ruler, marker pens and even their own whiteboard rubber. Something like this triple layer hardback Smiggle case is ideal as it can be wiped down with antibacterial wipes and has loads of handy storage pockets and zips to keep everything held securely in place. We were really impressed at just how much of Erin’s items we could fit in here without it feeling heavy – despite its hard case it is very lightweight. These cases are available in loads of fab designs to suit every personality including the new Galaxy, Sky and Kick ranges.

4. Label their possessions

Trust me when I say, now more than ever – label, label, label. Despite the fact that their current school routines are somewhat ‘different’, children are still really good at losing stuff, particularly PE kit and coats which are most likely to get taken off or discarded. We are big fans of Stamptastic name stamps which are really easy to label a bulk amount of items quickly, without the pain of having to sew them on by hand or get the iron out!

For younger children that can’t yet read their own name, these super cute initial key rings from Smiggle are also a great help – Neve wont miss this one that’s for sure!

5. Get the backpacks by the front door ready

Trying to even get the kids to put their own shoes on efficiently can be a challenge, so I aim to have everything by the front door ready the night before, that way you’re not running around to find things ten minutes before you need to leave. We are walking the school run most of the time this this year, so we have got a back pack with strap and padded soft shoulders for comfort as well as a mesh bottle holder so she doesn’t have her hands too full. We need lots of space to make room for all the home school books which need to go back to the teacher! I for one, will be glad to see the back of them! 🙂

6. Family planner

I bought a family planner in 2020 and sadly due to COVID, it didn’t get used a great deal – however, in the short few months I did get to use it, I found it really useful to visually see who needed to be where and when, what clothes they needed for school and any special events like PTA contributions or dress down days etc. If you don’t have a family planner, you could also set reminders on smart devices such as Alexa to make sure things aren’t forgotten in the morning rush. If your school offers this, you may also be able to sink the school calendar to your outlook or email calendar, which is super handy for seeing important evetns at a glance on. your phone. If all else fails, make sure you are part of the parents WhatsApp group and hope that someone is a tad more organised than you. Those in my school and nursery groups will vouch for the fact that I would be very lost without them, as despite my best intentions I always struggle to keep on top of all the parent pay emails and announcements. These groups are also really hopeful in the event of bubble closures and positive cases (hopefully not!)

7. Keeping hands clean – With the return to school comes the inevitable increase in the use of hand sanitisers and hand washes, and from our previous experiences, the alcohol ones at school really irritate my daughters skin. Last year we worked with Sterileeze who had launched a water based hypochlorous, alcohol free hand sanitiser that kills 99.99% of viruses and bacteria without the irritating or dehydrating effects of alcohol. This has been a huge help with my daughter who has eczema – far kinder to hands and sensitive skin, we were able to use this without Neve experiencing irritation or stinging on application.

8. Sleeping patterns

The first couple of weeks back at school are going to be really tiring as children adjust to the changes in their routine, or even simply being more physically active if they have been more sedentary than normal whilst at home. Try and have a few early nights now or get back into the habit of getting a good solid amount of sleep. Ideally kids should get between 10 and 12 hours sleep a night but I fully expect to be waking mine up for the first few weeks! Just think, we even have the clock changes to look forward to just to mix things up with their sleep a bit more! *facepalm*.

9. Talk about any of their worries

After being at home for so long and potentially hearing scary headlines about COVID, deaths and hospitals, children may be feeling a little anxious about returning to school. Talking to your children over the next few days about the changes and gauging how they are feeling can be really helpful. A great way to kickstart conversations is to use books – We love the Usborne Unworry Book as well as No Worries (an activity book for young people who may sometimes feek anxious or stressed). Other great books are Love (a beautiful picture book that explains how love is like string – whilst we may be physically apart our love will never break), and My Monster and Me by Nadiyah Hussain- the latter of which helps children both understand and manage their anxieties.

10. Last but not least, enjoy it – we’ve all been waiting for this moment and have all coped so well over the last 3 months with the very real challenge of homeschooling. Our teachers and teaching staff have all worked so hard during lockdown and I for one, cannot wait too see my children’s happy faces when they get to play, chat and engage with their friends and teachers again on Monday. They all need that boost to their mental health and wellbeing – and quite frankly, so do we! 🙂

How are you helping prepare your children for the return to school? 

*The Smiggle items featured were gifted in exchange for my honest review. They are all available online now – with 30% off full price items until Monday.