Thinking Ahead to Fall
Fall is my absolute favorite time of the year. There's nothing like the first crisp fall day where I can comfortably wear a sweater all day!
Fall will be here before we know it, and if you're a parent you are often surviving on a just-in-time schedule. If you have already bought everything you need for your family to be ready for fall, congrats on being way ahead of where most of us are! For everyone else, here are some things to think about now so you can be less stressed in a few weeks/months!
Figure out what you need for school
Getting ready for school mostly applies to those with older kids, but even as a parent of a soon-to-be 2-year-old there are a few items I'll need to do for her to start in the 2's room in September. This will vary significantly by family, and could include anything from signing up for school, to getting on a waitlist if you haven't already, to deciding on a pre-school schedule, to buying school supplies. For my family this includes scheduling a time to meet my daughter's new teacher and tour her new classroom!
Plan your schedule changes
For many of us it's too soon to start adjusting our schedules for fall, but I know that for some of you school is starting in less than a month so believe it or not it's almost time to think about these things!
Schedule changes are hard for adults, and even harder for some kids. If you have a child that thrives on schedules, now is the time to think about when and how you'll switch over from your summer schedule to your fall schedule. For parents of littles this might be as simple as thinking through if you want to make any changes when the sun eventually starts setting a bit sooner.
For parents of children who will have a major change like starting pre-school, new activities, or a change of childcare in the fall, this might be something more specific like a 5 minute change daily starting on a specific date and leading up to the big change. You can also wing these schedule changes, it leads to a few days of misery but for some families this is the way to go. For those that will make last minute changes, it's good to at least start mentally preparing for that now so that you aren't feeling frazzled!
Update your little one's wardrobe for fall
We all know children grow fast, so it's rare that something that fit them last fall will fit this fall (here are some tips on how to select clothes that will last the longest and give you the best chance of using your fall clothes twice).
Some items to think about upgrading for the littlest ones:
- Stroller accessories. Personally for transitional seasons like early fall I like having muslin blankets on hand because they easily fit in a diaper bag or stroller, can help keep little ones warm, yet they aren't very thick so they are the perfect lightweight transitional way to take the chill out of the air without overheating your little one.
- Jacket(s). Depending on your climate, this might include some combination of long sleeve pullovers, rain jackets, jean jackets, or fleece jackets. I live in the Kansas City area, where we spend a long time each year in the transitional temps so heading into fall I will make sure my daughter has at least one of all of these options that fit!
- Pants. Your little one might have been wearing shorts all summer, now is the time to see if their pants fit and buy more pants if you need to!
- Shirts. If your little one wears a lot of tank tops and lightweight materials, go through their closet and make sure some medium & heavy weight materials fit. Cotton and bamboo t-shirts likely transition well into fall, rompers and overalls *might* transition well with a different under layer. You probably want to get some long sleeved shirts as well, and if you're really thinking ahead or live in a really cold climate think about checking which sweaters fit! If you need to buy more, we have quite a few to choose from!
If you are a procrastinator by nature (I am!), this post will still be here when fall is here so you can always come back. For those looking to get ahead, these are a few things you can do now to be sure you can fully enjoy fall!