6 Ways to Make School Days Easier for Your Family

This post has been sponsored by KIWI® shoe care. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

One of the best parts of back-to-school season is shopping! My kids are so excited to wear their new gear—shoes included. The new school year is here which means new daily routines for our family to get used to. Usually, we hide Quinn’s new shoes away until the first day of school. But this year I let Quinn wear her cute new rainbow sneaks.

I was not worried about them being clean and fresh before the first day of school because I found a quick & easy way to keep them looking great with the KIWI® Sneaker Care System. While Quinn did get them dirty, because let’s face it, kids find every puddle and dirt mound. KIWI® shoe care products had us covered for clean and fresh shoes.

I’m sharing the KIWI® Sneaker Care System along with a few other easy tips for how to make school mornings easier for the entire family.

Clean & Protect Your Sneakers

First things first, if you spent the money on new shoes for your kids this school year, you need to protect them! I grabbed my KIWI® Sneaker Care System at Walmart using order pickup—a total lifesaver for busy moms! You can also find them in the shoe department if you choose to shop in-store.

If the sneakers are already dirty (which takes about .4 seconds!), you can use KIWI® Sneaker Cleaner to brush off the dirt, mud, and scuffs. The container has a little scrub brush attached for textured parts of the sneaker.

Next, you can protect them against rain, stains, salt, and dirt with KIWI® Sneaker Protector. It’s super easy to spray on.

After the protector dries, you can deodorize with KIWI® Sneaker Deodorizer so the sneakers are stink-free.

By cleaning and protecting your kids’ shoes, you’re making sure that there are a good pair of shoes to slip on every morning.

Lay Out Clothes for the Week

This is one morning hack that I plan to implement this year: laying out ALLLL the outfits for each child for the week. Pick five outfits that are weather-appropriate for the week and in the AM, your child chooses and gets dressed. Hopefully, it alleviates some of the morning struggle!

Ready Before TV

If you aren’t a TV in the AM family, I totally get it. We do let our kids watch a little bit of TV before the day starts, but I finds that turning it off before we get ready can be a struggle. So, the rule is that everyone has to be dressed with their hair brushed and backpacks ready before they can sit down and relax.

Make Lunches for the Week

I LOVE prepping Quinn’s lunches before the week starts, so we always have something ready to pop into her lunchbox in the mornings. I use little 4-pack containers and include crackers, meat, cheese, a veggie, and a fruit.

Prep A Snack Basket

My kids are ravenous when they get home, so I prepped a snack basket that has snack choices I’m ok with them eating. I also put together one for the car (think: crackers, pretzels, nuts, granola bars, apple sauce pouches) for when we’re on-the-go.

Make Your Child A Calendar

If your child has a busy schedule with after-school activities, clubs, sports, or lessons, it can help to have a special visual calendar for him or her to see the rundown. We always talk about the evening in the morning—”you have dance this afternoon and then we’ll eat dinner at home”—so that expectations are set before the day even starts and there are no surprises about what’s happening.

I think we’re all set for a great first-grade year! Any other school-day tips or tricks I’ve missed? Share them in the comments!