Have your kids come home in tears because they’ve missed a school dress up day? Or have YOU ended up in tears because you’ve taken the kids to school on a curriculum day? Reduce the chance of these distressing occurrences happening by adding school dates to an electronic calendar now!
Schools often release important dates such as curriculum days and term dates for the upcoming year about now. It’s a great opportunity to get the new year organised. Between now and Christmas put some time aside to add these important dates to your electronic calendar (just as I did on Friday night – see pic below).
How to add school dates and other related actions to online calendar
This process relies on “notifications” for appointments in your online calendar to be sent as reminders in your phone (search “how to set up notifications from online calendar” for your particular calendar, if you’re unsure how to do this).
Event: dress in green for World Environment Day.
- go to the date that the dress up day will occur.
- Add 7am notification “wear World Enviornment Day costume”.
- Brainstorm any related actions that need to occur for this dress up day.
- Add those actions as notifications eg: Add 9am notification”find costume” on the Saturday before it is to be worn .
Curriculum days
Use a similar process to above for curriculum days. (This blog was prompted by the fact that we live right opposite our school. We had a curriculum day last week and saw two families walking to school that morning!!eek, poor Mums!).
- go to the date the curriculum day will occur
- Add 7am notification “curriculum day”
- Add notification “arrange something for the kids to do on curriculum day”two weeks before the date,
Term Dates
Our school releases a School Calendar at the beginning of each year. I sit down with an ale (or 2) and add these dates to the calendar, including term dates.
Ensure you add commencing dates and end of term dates, especially finishing time (often 2.30 or 1.30pm at the end of term). Adding term dates in this way is even more important when you have kids going to different schools or one at school and the other at Kinder.
Weekly review
Review the school newsletter each week to double check the dates. Check you have them in the Calendar correctly or for alterations to the date.
Give it a go
Try adding the term dates and curriculum days to start with and see how you go. As the year unfolds add more important dates.
Empower older kids to add notifications to their school devices. Of course you can also add these dates to a family calendar and delegate to other family members.
If you need help putting these dates in the diary I’d love to come work with you to sort out your electronic calendar and weekly schedule. Book a time to work with me here (we can do this via Skype or Facetime if you live outside Melbourne).
Julie Cliff, Melbourne Professional Organiser at Space and Time specialises in home management systems for professional, working Mums. Mums that are having trouble keeping up with work, the kids’ school and after school commitments, household chores and, consequently, they are feeling exhausted, stressed and overwhelmed. Sound familiar? Julie would love to hear from you – info@spaceandtime.com.au