Kristi Hurley
- Aug 16, 2017
- 9 min read

Parent’s Back to School Survival Guide.

Updated: Jan 31

School time is here! Hallelujah! Ha-ha~just kidding! 🙂

How many of you are ready to start the school year again? I am not going to lie, I am in a little bit of denial, maybe a little sad, but I AM READY to have a great school year!

I know that going back to school can be overwhelming for your kids & for you too! Especially after this last year and a half!!! That is why I feel it is super important to help you all by giving you 7 powerful tools that can help you & your kids start the school year off on the right foot & will change your lives in such a positive way!

This is going to be short & sweet for all of you because I know how busy we all are! So, here are some EASY steps that you can use that will change not only your children’s lives, but yours as well! Happy reading everyone! 🙂

Simple steps to creating a great school year:

1. Set goals with your kids.

Talk to your kids in detail about what they want to accomplish this school year with their grades, sports, clubs, extracurricular activities, relationships, etc.? Take the time to do something one on one with them, so that you can really have fun and dig into some details.

Make them feel special and reassure them that any goal is possible. This is so important because that need that reassurance from you that they can do it…and that they should create goals that will make them stretch!

I really look forward to doing this with my daughter, because in the past it really reconnected all of us before they go went back to school. It is really fun & so rewarding when done together. We all set goals together so we all know what to expect from one another. It creates accountability within the entire family because we all know what we are striving for!

After you have discussed your goals, write them down! This is a great way for all of you to see the progress that you make throughout the year! If you want to take it one step farther (which I highly encourage), start gathering pictures & different sayings so that you all can create vision boards!

Creating vision boards together shows your commitment & excitement for your dreams/goals & will help you all stay accountable to what you want to create in your life! 🙂

They are powerful, they are proven to work, & they give you something to focus on to keep motivated. Read my post on vision boards to see the many benefits of using them here! They are amazing!

Dreaming & setting goals is supposed to be fun so laugh & enjoy every bit of it!

2. Start each day with 10 things to be grateful for!

I know that if your house is like mine, this can seem impossible! With 4 kids running in every different direction & a husband that travels to San Diego almost every week, my mornings can be CRAZY! So, I know what you are thinking right now! Trust me, I do, but this is so important for you to understand the benefits of doing this!

However, YOU HAVE to spend time focusing on this! Especially now in such a negative world, it so hard to get stuck in all of the COVID chaos, the fears, politics, you name it, it is easy to get trapped! All of this negativity affects EVERYTHING in our lives and EVERYONE!!!

Gratitude is a simple task that can be used in SO many ways and can make such a positive difference in your lives and your children’s lives!

Make this simple & easy! It is fun, uplifting and GOOD for EVERYONE to focus on!!!

Remember…we have SO much to be grateful for, so don’t make this hard! Be grateful for waking up, your health, the sun, moon, clean air, water, your home, your family, etc! There are ENDLESS things to be grateful for try your best to find them all!!!

Here are some easy ways to get that topic started each day:

Bring it up at breakfast. Have each person share an item that they are grateful for until everyone shares at least 5 items!
Share what you are grateful for while packing your backpacks.
You can talk about it while doing their hair. Maybe ask what they are most grateful for when it comes to themselves and their personal appearance…
If you drive them to school, talk about what they are grateful for that day and what they expect from their day.
Talk to them at the bus stop.
Most everyone has an extra 5 minutes in the morning, but if you don’t, get up 5 minutes earlier! I promise you’ll enjoy this habit AND it has the power to change your entire day if you let it!

Starting each day with attitude of gratitude WILL change your life! It certainly changed mine! 🙂

Read more here on the importance of having gratitude in your life. I promise it is worth your time! 🙂

3. Give your kids a journal.

No matter what age or sex your child is, having a journal can be a very powerful outlet for your children to share their feelings, their successes, their fears, their dreams, hopes & goals!

I have used a journal since I was a teenager. It was a way for me to share my concerns, my fears, passions, & my dreams. It helped me to express my feelings, let off steam, realize my accomplishments, & find my passions! I learned so much about myself through journaling that I can’t even imagine my life without one!

10 years ago, I started writing in my journal each day about what I was grateful for in my life. As soon as I made this part of my daily routine, my life started to change. I was putting more focus on what was good in my life rather than what was bad, which shifted everything for me! 🙂

We ALL should have a journal! They are simple but they have the power to change your lives!

4. Listen!

One of the MOST important things that you could ever do for your child is to listen to them! They have feelings that are worth hearing no matter if you agree with them or not! Show them that you care & respect them by REALLY listening to them.

Everyone deserves to be heard, especially when kids are growing up & going through so many changes.

Never be too busy to take a moment to listen! This is so important! 🙂

When you really take the time to hear what they are saying, you have the opportunity to earn your trust and guide them through important life lessons! But, if they can’t count on you to listen they WILL go to someone else who will listen to them. Make sure they are talking to you not someone you may not trust.

Also, remember by taking the time to listen to them fully, they will learn to take the time to listen to others fully! What an important thing for them to learn! 🙂

5. Use positive prompts!

You may not understand what this means just yet, but this can be an important tool to turn many negatives into positives! I use this to combat any complaining that comes our way! 🙂

I hate to keep using the way our world is as an excuse…however, our CHILDREN tend of focus on the negatives more than the positives any given time!

Start by asking questions such as:

What was the best part of your day?
What made you laugh today?
Who was the funniest today?
Were you able to do something nice for someone today? How did that make you feel?
What was your favorite subject today?
Was there something that made you feel good inside?
Did you make someone laugh today?
Were you able to give someone a compliment today?
How did you help your teacher or class today?
Who stood out the most to you today?
Were you able to see others being kind and supportive? Do you have examples?
Who was the most caring?
What is one thing that you could do better tomorrow?

The possibilities are endless, so have FUN with this & just make sure that you keep everything positive! That is the key to success here!

Using positive prompts when talking to your kids conditions them to think in a more positive way & combats the cycle of complaining! It also, helps your children have more than a 1 word answer, it gets them to engage with you about their day! I ALWAYS use it & I love it! 🙂

6. Lead by example!

This is my FAVORITE, yet most challenging too! No matter what, we MUST lead by example for our kids!

Think about how much time our kids spend with us….they are always watching and learning from us. They really are a direct reflection of us. So, if we are not liking our children’s actions, we better stop and take a look in the mirror, right?

Think about it….

If you are being grateful for things in your life, they will be grateful for the things that they have in their lives.
When you are writing in your journal, they will start writing in their journal.
If you take the time to REALLY listen to them, they will take the time to really listen to you!
When you start seeing all of the good in life, they will start to seeing the good in life too!
If you serious and take the time to write down your goals and create a vision board, you will find that they will want to do it too they will too!

BUT…

When you are focused the drama in your life, THEY WILL BE TOO!
When you are focused on the NEGATIVE, they will be focused on the negative too!
If YOU are complaining all of the time, THEY will be complaining all of the time too!
If you NEVER take the time to dream or set goals, THEY NEVER WILL EITHER!

You guys have the POWER to create an amazing school year for your children & for yourselves…but you have to change as well! It is worth it I PROMISE!

Take the time to lead your children in the RIGHT direction. Teach them how powerful THEY are! Start by showing them how powerful YOU are! You’ll love it! I promise! 🙂

You can read about my No Complaining Challenge here! It is a fun and very important challenge to embark upon! I promise!

7. Thoughts are THINGS!

I am going to leave this as the last step because it is so powerful! Please remember what we say becomes reality! We have that power within us to create whatever we want in this life with our thoughts and words. We just need to become more aware of that power we possess.

For example:

If you say you are sick, then you magically become sick.
When you keep saying you are tired, you become more tired.
If you constantly talk about being financially broke, you continue to be broke.
When you say, “Nothing ever goes my way,” Then nothing will ever go your way.
If you say you are going to do horrible on this test, you then do horrible on your test!

The list is endless, right?

This is ALL proven! Think back throughout your life and notice where your thoughts were and where your life was….they are directly correlated! Right?

You have to STOP thinking negatively! If you & your children could see how powerful words are, you would NEVER say anything negative again! I promise! If you want to read about the importance about becoming aware of your thoughts click here. 🙂

Try changing your words consistently to something more positive such as “I am going to do great, I am going be successful, I am going to score 5 goals, etc.” & I PROMISE you will see AMAZING changes! 🙂

If your child has an issue with a learning disability, social anxiety, or whatever it may be, do NOT focus on the negative, only focus on the positive & be very careful about how you talk their situation with your kids. You have to put the positive spin on their situation because there is ALWAYS a positive! Make sure to find it & focus on that! 🙂

Overall, make sure to focus on the GOOD!

Start implementing these steps daily with your children because it really will change everything in your lives in such a great way!

I have been using these strategies with my kids over the years & it REALLY does make a difference in all areas of their lives! You’ll be pleasantly surprised!

Remember that your children are ALWAYS watching you! YOU have the power to change YOUR life & THEIRS, so be careful with what you say, do, read, & watch because they will do the same! Make sure to DREAM BIG, create GOALS, remember THOUGHTS are THINGS, & be GRATEFUL for each & every day!

I would love to hear how these tools work for all of you, so please message me or reply to me down below, on FB, Twitter, or Instagram & remember to sign up here to join in our fun & start changing your life!

By signing up, you’ll receive weekly tips & inspiration, FREE downloads, & you’ll be gaining a whole new community of amazing people!

For all of you who are local here in Colorado, you to get to utilize our Little Care Farm for Summer programs, Fall After school programs, Homeschool programs, Riding program, etc. AND these are the lessons that we teach at our here!

MINDSET, FUN all with animals, in a POSITIVE environment!

We have a lot of new things coming to you all soon and it is going to be AMAZING, it is so exciting to be able to share them all with you!!!

I am excited to start this journey with you all! Thanks so stopping by! Much love to you all!

Have an amazing school year you guys!

XOXO,

Kristi

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