Prepping Without the Panic: A Gentler Way Into the New School Year.
Lola Olajide, founder of mindful colouring book brand Ruthy Michaels, smiling and holding two colouring markers against an orange background — self-care and mindfulness colouring for busy mums and caregivers.
The uniform's out. The lunchboxes are being hunted down from wherever they landed in July. And somewhere underneath the shopping list, there's a quieter feeling most parents don't say out loud: I'm not ready either.
We talk a lot about children's back-to-school nerves — new teacher, new classroom, new routine. What gets missed is that the adults are adjusting too. The freedom (or chaos) of the holidays is ending, and everyone in the house is recalibrating at once.
Here's the truth we want you to sit with this week: you don't need a perfect countdown plan. You need a few small, steady moments that make the shift feel less abrupt — for both of you.
The transition is felt, not just scheduled
You can colour-code a countdown chart and still feel blindsided by the first "I don't want to go" on results day. That's because back-to-school isn't just a logistics problem — bedtimes, uniforms, packed lunches. It's an emotional one. Children (and parents) leave one rhythm and step into another, and nervous systems notice that shift before schedules do.
What helps isn't more planning. It's a few small anchors that gently ease everyone back in.
Three anchors for the run-up
1. Name it before it lands. A five-minute colouring session with a simple prompt — "What are you looking forward to? What feels a bit wobbly?" — gives a child language for nerves before the first morning, instead of a meltdown at the school gate. It works just as well for you: naming your own "I'm not ready either" out loud takes some of its power away.
2. Rebuild routine in small doses, not one big reset. You don't need to flip the whole household onto term-time mode overnight. A short wind-down ritual — colouring or journaling for ten minutes before bed, a few nights before term starts — signals "things are shifting" without the shock of an instant new regime.
3. Let the nerves be normal, not a problem to fix. A child who's anxious about going back isn't broken and doesn't need reassurance rushed at them. Sitting alongside them with a colouring page, letting the conversation come sideways rather than head-on, often gets further than "you'll be fine."
A gentle reframe
Your child isn't the only one recalibrating this week — and neither are you. Prepping for September doesn't mean having every school photo, packed lunch, and pencil case sorted a fortnight early. It means a few small, shared moments of calm before the routine lands — exactly what a five-minute colouring page or a bedtime journal prompt is built for.
You Got This" hand-coloured affirmation page from Ruthy Michaels, surrounded by school-themed doodles including books, pencils, a school bus and hot air balloon — a colouring page for kids and parents preparing for back to school.
Next week: once term's properly underway, we'll talk about finding your own rhythm again now that the summer's over.
