Is Your Home Ready for the School Year?

Believe it or not, we're already getting into the middle of August, which means the new school year is just around the corner. "Back-to-school" tends to be a stressful time for parents, but with a little planning, it can be a breeze.

Here are some tips to help get this school year off to a smooth start:

• Set up your calendars – Between class projects, sports, school events, music lessons, tutoring sessions and all of the other things that make up kid's schedules, there's going to be a lot to keep track of. Map out your calendars now and put them somewhere you'll always see them.

• Create a homework area – Without a dedicated area in your house for schoolwork, kids will can end up easily distracted. By setting up a special area in your house for them to study and work on homework, you can cut down on distractions.

• Make sure your Internet is fast enough – These days, it seems like everything kids do for school requires an Internet connection. Make sure your connection is fast enough to download files quickly and stream videos.

• Shop smart – Have a shopping plan and make sure you take advantage of any tax-free weekends in your area. For more, check out these back-to-school shopping tips.

• Create a routine – Without a plan, mornings and afternoons can get chaotic pretty quickly. Come up with morning and afternoon routines and stick to them. Start easing them into the schedule now, before school starts. Eventually, things will settle into a more predicable pattern.

• Educational programming – Playing educational TV shows at home is one of the easiest ways to get children to learn outside of school. Check your TV package to see if you have enough access to educational programming.