Back-to-School Family Meetings

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By Helen Williams

The back to school season offers an opportunity to re-set house rules, set new daily and weekly routines, brainstorm menu ideas and review family goals. Hosting a family meeting once a week starting at the beginning of August will help you get organized for a successful school year.

Week 1 Meeting: Family Goals.

Start with a quick review of your family values and overall goals. Next, have each family members set 1-3 goals for themselves (personal and academic) and discuss how they will achieve the goals with the support of each other. Discuss how external influences can derail family and personal goals and review expectations/consequences, bedtime and curfews, social networking/Facebook, video game & TV rules, and homework routines.

Week 2 Meeting: Extracurricular Activities.

What activities will help your family members reach their goals? Using Bristol board or paper have each family member make a list of favourite activities. Using your family budget, time availability, and goals, decide what activities are going to be possible. Be prepared for signups mid August to mid September.

Week 3 Meetings: Chores & Responsibilities.

Chaos in the home can derail a family and a school year. First, using your family goals and available time (from your first two meetings) decide what needs to be done daily and weekly and who will be responsible for what. Think about morning, afterschool, and before bed chores. Weekly chores like laundry and cleaning can be tackled as a team.

Week 4 Meeting: Meal Planning.

A round-table brainstorming session is a great way to come up with fresh breakfast, lunch, afterschool snacks and
family dinner ideas. Grab magazine clippings, cookbooks and your favourite food websites and come up with a list of ideas you can go to each week when you prepare a meal plan. Also, make a two-week meal plan for the beginning of the school year.

The Night Before Meeting: Encouragement.

Hold a short meeting using the information from all of the Back to School meetings and share one encouraging comment for each child. “My wish for…..” Include their academic goals, an extracurricular activity, friends, family time, favourite meal, and fears.

Once school starts, make family meetings part of your weekly or monthly routine, combining them with a fun family activity.