Back to School To Do List for a Smooth Start to the School Year

A little planning now means a smoother start to the school year. To help, here is our Back to School To Do List, filled with tips and resources for saving money, time, and your weekday morning sanity. You can even add it to your Cozi account for easy tracking. We hope this school year is your best yet!

Make a list for school supplies

Check to see what you already have before you go shopping, then find out if your school website has a list of suggested supplies for your child’s grade. If not, here are school supplies starter lists by grade. Visit Motherly for a list of 10 money-saving tips, like following the social media accounts of your favorite stores where you’ll get the heads’ up on sales and coupons.

Check for tax-free day

Certain states run tax-free shopping days to help you save on school supplies and clothes. Find out if your state has tax-free days this year.

Set up a shared family calendar

Set up a shared calendar to track everyone’s busy schedules in one place.

Update emergency contacts

Keep a list so that sitters, grandparents, and even your kids have a handy reference for neighbors, doctors, and poison control.

Donate clothing

Collect clothing that your kids have outgrown or won’t wear, and donate to charity. Some school nurses and daycares also welcome extra clothes for kids in need or kids who have an accident during school.

Organize the kids’ bedrooms

Invest in storage solutions to tame toy, equipment and clothing spillover.

Create a homework area

Designate a quiet, uncluttered area in your home that’s just for schoolwork.

Check for meet-and-greets

Your child’s school might have a meet-and-greet event scheduled before school starts. This is a great way to become familiar with the school, the teacher, and classmates.

Practice the route

Walk through the school transportation routine if your child will take the bus or walk to school. Get to know the bus stop, practice safe crossings and go over expectations for when things don’t go as planned, e.g., the bus is late or doesn’t come.

Start an end-of-summer tradition

Even a small tradition can make long-lasting memories. How about an ice cream bar for dinner? See that and more fun ideas from families for simple end-of-summer traditions.

Make copies of filled-in forms

Until schools start transferring last year’s information to this year’s forms, we’re stuck starting from scratch each year. Do your next-year’s self a favor by taking a pic or making a copy of each one.

Create to do lists for the kids

Consider a school morning checklist and an after-school checklist to help your kids with time management.

Prepare for school lunch

If your child is new to school and buying lunch, describe how that will work, and even practice the process with young kids. If your child is packing lunch, make a list of lunch ideas together.

Stock up on healthy snacks

Make sure your cupboards have healthy options for after school. For inspiration, here is a list of snacks kids can make themselves, by age.