How to End the School Year Well

May is here again, and the school year is wrapping up! The end of the school year is usually a combination of last-minute activities, warm spring weather, and pushing through the same school-day routine… which is probably feeling a little stale by now. (See the viral post Worst End of School Year Mom Ever if you relate!)

Okay, so how can we as parents help our kids (and ourselves) end the school year on a good note? Here a few ways to finish well and get ready to transition into a summer routine.

1. Stay consistent with homework, morning and evening routines, and organization. Perseverance is a valuable life skill, and the end of the school of year can definitely test our commitment! Stick with getting homework done after school, starting and ending the day well, and keeping track of forms, permission slips, and library books. This will make everything seem less stressful.
2. Get plenty of sleep. It’s staying light later… which can make it more difficult to stick to bedtime, but it’s still important for kids to be well-rested for those early school mornings.
3. Show appreciation to teachers. The first week of May is National Teacher Appreciation Week, and May 8, 2018 is Teacher’s Day in the United States. Making it to the school year finish line is a challenge for teachers, too! Here are some ideas for ways to say thank you.
4. Start thinking summer. Whether it’s vacation, summer camps, or how to ease into a new routine, May is the time to think ahead about what the next few months will look like for the whole family. School-age kids can benefit from a summer morning routine. I like to post one on the fridge for the first few weeks of summer to help give mornings a little bit of structure.
5. Plan something fun to do after the last day of school to reward your kids for a job well done! It can be something simple like going out for breakfast, going to see a movie, or another inexpensive outing, but the point is to create a milestone where you celebrate your child’s achievement and talk about what’s next.