As parents, we can find that we have a lot to do, but never enough time to do it. When you consider housework, commuting, your job, not to mention the actual job of parenting itself, there’s a lot that can threaten to tip the balance. When your children start school, this is when you start to realize that keeping up with the school is almost a job and itself. You are expected to contribute to funds, help with homework, PTA meetings, and have to craft a lot of things at the very last minute. How can we keep on top of school demands like this? Let’s show you some time-honored tactics.

Get a Calendar of Events

It’s not just about the Christmas show or the sports meet but it’s about all of the other things in between that does not just mean you have to spend more money, but potentially, you will end up having to prepare a lot of things at the last minute. 

A very good example is World Book Day. World Book Day is something that, no matter how many times it crops up, is always a last-minute afterthought for parents. There are a number of things you can do to make life easier for yourself, for example, getting book week costumes in advance but when you have a calendar of events at your disposal, this means that you can plan and prepare, whether it’s creating costumes or being able to save enough money. 

It can be very frustrating to have a message via your school app saying there is a big event in a few days’ time. If the school doesn’t already provide one, get a calendar of events so you can look at what will come up and give yourself a lot more breathing space.

Start Saving Solid Money

A very little thing but these days we live in a society where we pay by card. Depending on where you live, your school may not want you to send money to their bank account. Paper and coin money is always needed by schools, and these donations help them provide resources for the children, but when they send you that last-minute message expecting you to pay money by the end of the week, but you don’t have any paper money, the best thing you can do is, every now and again, take some money out and break it into change so you’ll always have a little something to donate.

Keep on Top of Homework Demands

As the children get older it is their responsibility, but at the very outset, it is an unwritten rule that you are there to support your children by helping them with spelling and reading. While we want to be able to help, it’s safe to say the volume of work we have to do can prevent this, and as most of us physically do not have the time, it’s not helpful to anyone. So how can you do this? The best approach is to work with your child with a loose but solid schedule. During the early years they will need help with their reading and spelling, so to make life easier for you, get into the habit of doing something, just for a few minutes once a week, and when it gets to the point that your child expects this, it will hopefully minimize any “kick back.” 

When it comes to something like spelling, you’ve got to make it as fun as possible for them, which might not be an easy thing to do, but you need to get the environment right. Children might not want to do work because it feels like work, but with something like spelling, you could do it while they are having their bath. Investing in bath crayons and asking them to practice the spelling on the side of the bathtub will, at least, make things a little bit more tolerable. The real solution to helping your child learn is to put a structure in place.

Learn How to Sew!

Crafting is, as any parent will tell you, a critical part of your child’s school life during the first few years. The Christmas show will demand you invest in costumes or you will have to put a costume together with very little notice. Learning how to sew but also having an abundance of craft items like cotton wool balls and glue will mean you can put together a costume at the very last minute. 

There are a number of unknown demands we can find upon ourselves when our children start school, but it’s about knowing what to expect while being a bit more resourceful.

Main Image Credit Pixabay – CC0 License