What I’m Doing Now So the First Week of School Doesn’t Suck

Here’s my plan.

I have a rule: it takes 10 full days to recover from a trip to Europe. Ten days for the jet lag to wear off, for energy to come back, for everyone in the house to stop waking up at 3:00 AM asking for a snack. We just hit day ten. And it’s good timing, because we’re heading into our final few days of summer.

I can feel the mental checklist forming in the back of my mind: forms to fill out, school supplies to label, dentist appointments to squeeze in, childcare to coordinate, after-school activities to lock down, calendars to sync. There’s a lot. And it’s hitting all at once.

But what’s hitting me harder than the logistics is I’m about to have a Kindergartener.

This feels like the start of a brand new chapter, one I feel equal parts ready for and a little heartbroken over.

So this week, I’m shifting gears. Not to try and control everything (although I wish I could), but to put just enough structure in place to support the season we’re entering. Here's how I’m preparing.

1. I’m starting with my mornings.

I want to feel calm and happy by the time we leave for drop-off (a far departure from how I felt in the beginning of last school year). So I sat down and created a work-back schedule:

• What time do we need to leave the house?

• What actually needs to happen before then for me, and for the kids?

• What do I want to own, and what can my husband take on as part of a morning split shift?

• And what small things help me feel grounded like not skipping breakfast, or getting in my 20 mins of morning movement?

Once I laid it all out, I calculated my wake-up time and committed to it. No snoozing. Not this month. I’m starting before school begins, because thinking a brand-new routine will magically fall into place the first week of school is laughable.

→ Your turn: Don’t overthink it. Just ask yourself how you want to feel in the morning, and start building backward from there. Give it a few days and see how your energy shifts.

2. I’m shifting how our evenings flow.

Kindergarten starts almost a full hour earlier than TK, which means our entire evening routine needs to shift. Everything moves up: dinner, bath, bedtime, all of it.

The first thing we’re adding back in is a 45-minute transition walk after work. My husband and I used to do this every evening with Bear. It was his favorite part of the day and it became one of ours too. He’s sadly not here anymore, but we’re keeping his walk. It’s blocked on the calendar. Much needed quiet and connection before the night chaos kicks in.

From there, we move into family dinner, then wind-down and bedtime earlier for the kids and for us. We’re not trying to stretch the day anymore. We’re trying to soften the edges of it.

→ Your turn: What would it look like to mark the transition between work and mom mode with something that fills you up, even if it’s just 10 quiet minutes outside?

3. I’m getting everything out of my brain and onto the calendar.

I know the mental load is coming. The pick-ups, the activities sign-ups, the forgotten half-days, the weekend birthday parties, the “did we book childcare?” last minute scramble.

So I’m sitting down and loading it all into our shared calendar system:

• Every school event and early release (thanks to a ChatGPT hack that takes 5 minutes)

• After-school activities

• Travel plans

• Social plans we actually want to make happen (Friday night Shabbats, kid-friendly happy hours, adults-only dinners)

• Au Pair coverage for all of it

• And new this year: a separate meal calendar (using this ChatGPT prompt to build our plan)

→ Your Turn: Block 1 hour today. Open your calendar, choose one area (school, meals, childcare), and make it visible. Getting it out of your head is the first step to building your home system.

We don’t need to overhaul everything. But we do need to be intentional right now, before we’re in the thick of it.

Currently

WATCHING Anora actually got to watch a movie on the flight, and this was captivating. Racy, funny, dramatic, something you won't get easily distracted from.

BUYING Storage Caddy Originally bought this for art supplies, ended up getting another for my bathroom to get everything off my vanity and under the cabinet

COOKING Hemp Crusted Salmon + Oven Baked Rice a family favorite, we were excited to eat this again now that we are home

COMMITTING August Rise & Thrive Club come join my latest early rising club! With back to school coming up, I’m committed to waking up earlier and starting my mornings off on the right foot.

SHARING How to Accomplish a No-Tear School Drop Off we love creating social stories to help our kids during a time of transition, and I’m sharing how I used ChatGPT to do the work for me.

All The Things

This week I’m sharing outfits that are great for both school drop off and a productive WFH day. Shop the visual edit here.

• Donni Linen Simple Pants paired with this LESET Pointelle Tee (yes, these are worth it)

• LESET Yoko Pant paired with Everlane Slim Crew

• Lululemon Pintuck Pant with Always Effortless Jacket and Cropped White Shirt

• Lululemon Define Jacket with Align Pant in Autumn Rust (this color for the fall!)

• My favorite sneaker, so comfy: New Balance 9060

• Bags: The GOAT Claire V. Fanny or this $60 real leather sling

New Modern Mom Podcast Spotlight

ICYMI my tips on surviving back-to-school season:

📘 A therapist-backed storytelling method I’m using to help my kindergartner feel ready and save myself from daily drop-off tears

⏰ Why I’m test-driving my morning routine now (and getting my partner aligned too)

🎒 Easy ways to get your kid excited and involved with prep without it becoming another task for you

📋 The night-before checklist that keeps our mornings from imploding

📆 A ChatGPT hack that YOU MUST TRY NOW to add your full school-year calendar into your own

These five actions are helping me feel prepared instead of scrambling, and I hope they’ll do the same for you.

❤️ Don’t forget to give this a little love

And you’ll have my deepest gratitude helping this newsletter grow by:

• 💬 Leaving a comment with what time you’re committing to waking up!

• 📤 Hitting ‘Share’ to send to your group chat.

Thanks for joining me on this journey,

Barbara