For those of us in the Northern Hemisphere with kids it's deep in summer vacation - and halfway to school starting again. Wherever in the world you are, if you have kids, you know that the week before school every parent of a child and possibly some people with just pets will be waiting in line for school supplies. And the backpacks selection will be down to the bare bones. And there will be so many emails and whatsapps from the kids schools that you will want to bang your head against the wall until it hurts less than from the pain than from thinking about it all.

So…

If you don't already have one, I want to suggest a "School and Activities List"

In it goes:

School supplies - some of us need to every last book, some of need to just but pencils, most of us need something in between. Make supply to do list for each of your kids and add what they need to sub lists.
• If you don't already have a ready list of what they need, email the school now to ask.
• If there's no school list approximate based on last year. If this is your first year ask your most organized parent friend what they suggest and base your list on that until you get something solid.
• Do you need uniforms/psuedo-uniforms/gym uniforms/stuff with the school name embossed? Stick that here with an additional shopping tag.
• Add things as they come up/get announced. Cross them off as you pick them up. Make the ones you'll need to recheck during the year recurring. Group or tag them according to where you want to shop for them (#Walkbooks, #Onlineorder, #SportsSence - etc)

Tuition/Yearly Payments - I put big payments under my finance category but the things my kids need to show up with in an envelope or need to be walked into the office I put under this list. For me that includes yearly lunch payments, field trip payments, class parent gift funds - things like that.

Forms - There are permission slips for field trips and health statement forms and permission for photos forms and permission to ask for permission forms… I may have made the last part up. Stick a form tasks up and add the names of the forms as they come along with when they have to go back to school.

Most school up until a certain age have in-class birthday somethings - my schools tell us all about what we will need to do at opening meetings - and then I have to remember all of that when my kids actually have birthdays in May and June. Stick a task down already now to be in touch with the teacher a month ahead and add the notes on what's going to be needed at the meeting.

After school Activities:
• Rather you already know what your registering for or if you're looking to try things out, add them here
○ check in with your kids coaches/teachers/etc about when they're looking to start and when registration begins if you already know what your child is doing.
○ Put your research notes on when to check out what where here if you don't know yet what you're looking for. If you're local something has basketball and art opening/walk in days write them down here.

Daycamp/Camp - Yeah - I know, we're already in the middle of that right now and are hopefully all set - but I stick it here under activities with a due date of April/May with notes on what camps I already know I want to look at next year (and what really didn't work if I want to remind myself in a note). We'll be there again before we know it.

Other things that go here throughout the year:
In no particular order -
• Setting meetings with teachers or staff
• Gifts for teachers (end of the year/holiday)
• Gifts for in school holidays/birthdays/gift trades
• Checking pencil case/school supplies periodically with kids
• Permission forms that pop up throughout the year
• Whatever PTA or committee stuff you might find yourself in





Last task suggestion - Make a task to remind yourself to go out one morning the first week the kids are back in school to celebrate (small celebrate, think coffee - or as big as you want to go) with your spouse or partner or friend a monkey.(optional but highly suggested)

Lots of luck to us all :).