Teacher Mom Shares The 3 Traditions She Always Does With Her Kids Before They Go Back To School

It hardly seems possible, but summer is already drawing to a close, and soon enough, kids will be heading back to school to kick off a new year. For many kids and parents alike, it's a huge transition — not only is it a milestone, but it's a disruption of the day-to-day routine favored during summer break. 

If you're looking for some ways to ease into this next chapter, one TikToker has some great ideas that will help you and your kids prepare for the new school year.

A teacher and mom shared her 3 favorite back-to-school traditions she does with her kids to start the year off right:

Taylor Hagemeyer is a mom of two, an author, and a preschool teacher, so for her, back-to-school time is a double-whammy. Not only is it time for her kids to make a big transition, but she herself has to adjust to going from a stay-at-home mom to a working mom. That's a lot!

So, as she shared in a video, she's developed three back-to-school traditions she practices with her kids that help with these transitions. They also get her kids engaged with school, inspiring them to be excited about the change instead of daunted by it.

"They look forward to them every year," she said in her video, "and I started to look forward to them too." If you and your kids are feeling a bit overwhelmed by the back-to-school furor, these just might help keep those nerves in check.

RELATED: The Sweet Lesson A Psychologist Mom Learned From Her Son's 'First Day Of School' Meltdown

1. Visit the school — including the playground, of course — and talk about the coming year

"We go visit their school," Hagemeyer said, and if the playground is unlocked and accessible, they have a good old-fashioned rollick. If not, they just walk around the school building and the grounds to get a feel for the place.

While doing so, "we talk about things we're nervous about and things we're excited about," Hagemeyer said. "We talk about mom and dad's expectations for the kids at school and those kinds of things." 

According to the Child Mind Institute, this school year pep talk is a great way to ease kids into the potentially daunting prospect of a new year, starting it off on a positive note.

2. Go to the library and check out books about going back to school

"The second thing we do is we go to the public library, and we check out as many children's books about back-to-school as we can," Hagemeyer said.

Monkey Business Images | Canva Pro

RELATED: Teacher Says Parents Who Post A Specific Back To School Picture On Social Media Are Putting Their Kids At Risk

"We check out a bunch of them, and then we read them at home together all snuggled up on the couch," Hagemeyer went on to say, "and talk about the upcoming school year and read some of our favorite ones from the year before and then find some new ones.

Once again, this gives kids a chance to ease into the idea and set positive expectations and goals for the new school year. It also helps build positive associations with something that, for some kids, might seem like a drag.

3. Do a practice morning run — with donuts, of course

"The last thing that we do is my absolute favorite," Hagemeyer said. Before the school year starts, they do a practice run on what a typical school morning will look like.

"We get up as early as we need to get ready for school and we do everything we normally would on a school morning," Hagemeyer said. "We call it practice morning."

They run through their paces of getting ready, gathering their backpacks and lunches just like they would on a normal day — but with a fun twist.

"Instead of driving to school, we leave at the exact time we normally would, but we drive to get donuts, and we take donuts and coffee to the park," Hagemeyer said. "It's just a really special time that we have together every year, and I really look forward to it."

Hagemeyer said she also gets "a little misty-eyed" each year because of what the donut day actually means — her kids are growing up and taking another huge leap forward, which is always tough to take.

Still, it gives everyone a positive moment and warm memory to mark the new transition for kids and parents alike. And if all else fails, and that's not enough to stave off the back-to-school melancholy — at least there are donuts!

RELATED: Former Teacher Says It’s Time To Start Leaving Children Behind Who Do Not Perform At Grade Level — ‘Holding Kids Back Is The Answer’

John Sundholm is a news and entertainment writer who covers pop culture, social justice and human interest topics.