132 | Overwhelmed By Back To School Chaos? How To Sprinkle Joy Throughout The School Year

Hey Mama!

Feeling overwhelmed by back-to-school chaos? You're not alone! In this 3rd episode of The Transition Mini Series, discover how to transition from summer freedom to school schedules without losing joy or connection with your kids.

School starting doesn't mean the fun has to end. Learn practical ways to sprinkle joy throughout the school year with simple, spontaneous moments that don't add to your already overwhelming to-do list. From surprise love notes to weeknight dessert outings, these strategies help busy Christian moms create meaningful family connections during the structured school season.

Whether you're juggling supply lists, early mornings, after-school activities, or homework battles, this episode will help you reframe the back-to-school transition as a fresh beginning filled with new opportunities for growth and joy.

Perfect for overwhelmed moms, busy families, and anyone struggling with back-to-school transition overwhelm.

 Key Takeaways

• See school year as a fresh start - It's not the end of fun, it's the beginning of new growth and adventures
• Add surprise joy moments - Love notes, treats, and spontaneous park visits keep connection alive without rigid schedules
• Choose connection over perfection - Sprinkle meaningful moments into free time rather than planning elaborate activities

Explore more from the Transition Mini Series:

130 | The Hidden Struggle Moms Don't See Coming When Kids Start School
131| Did I Do Enough? Escaping The Back-To School Mom Guilt Trap

More FREE Resources:

FREE Community: Break Free From Mom Guilt

Become a Restored Mind Family Member: Sign Up Here

Email: Hello@restoredmindllc.com

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It's time to become to the mom you want to be. Remember, you can do hard things!
"I can do all things through Him who strengthens me"- Philippians 4:13

Transcript

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School just started and your family's rhythm has flipped upside down between supply list and early mornings or even after school activities. You're wondering, how do I handle this chaos without losing connection with my kids? Today I'm sharing practical ways to ease, overwhelm and create meaningful moments because Mama, the fun doesn't have to end just because Summer did, you can still sprinkle joy all school year long. Now, speaking of joy, have you joined my free online community yet? It is where Christian moms are learning how to trade mom guilt for freedom without adding more to their already busy schedule. You get biblical encouragement that are easy to read while you are waiting in the school pickup line, sipping on your coffee or enjoying your hot. T. You also get simple practices to connect with your family during busy school routines. So there's no fancy journals required or complicated systems. Just click the link in the show notes to join other moms who are trading guilt for freedom. One small step. Now I personally cannot wait to welcome you inside. So what are you waiting for? Go ahead and click that link. Hey Mama. Overwhelmed by Mom Guilt. I'm Caroline Tao, helping Christian moms trade perfectionism for freedom and rest. Welcome to the Restored Mind, where Biblical wisdom meets practical strategies for becoming the mom You've always wanted to be ready. Let's do this. Welcome back to the third episode of the transition mini series. Each episode builds on the previous one to help you navigate the entire transition journey as we move from summer to the back to school season and into the holidays. Because it's going to be here before we know it. Now I have three kids all ranging from the ages of six and 10, and my oldest is very much like me in a sense where when summer ends, we absolutely hate it. We start dragging our feet and then we start thinking about what's ahead of us without any enthusiasm or even excitement. When I was a little girl. Summer was my favorite season, and in those days, at least for me, time moved a lot slower and I really, really enjoyed not being in school for a few short months Now fast forward to the present day and I see that same kind of energy in my son. I mean, he definitely took after his mama in that aspect, the griping about getting back into a routine, the wishes of summer lasting 365 days a year, just to avoid going back to school. And yes, he really said that. And the overall sadness. Of summer coming to an end is just well sad, because in both of our minds, we thought the fun was coming to an end, and it's back to boring old routines where we only look forward to the weekends. I mean, am I the only one with a child like that? I am willing to bet. Probably not. And if you are a mom with a child who is like that, you are more than likely going to relate. But here's the thing, it was the mindset that was actually causing so much unnecessary stress for both of us. Now, my daughters, they love school. I don't know whose kids they are, but they are so excited to go to school just about every day. And my son, I can see him dragging his feet. Anyway, one day I realized something important, which is that joy doesn't have to end because summer does. I was putting this enormous pressure on myself to make summer perfect, and then mentally checking out on creating meaningful moments once school started, and that's when a light bulb hit me. What if we could sprinkle summer, like moments throughout the school year? I started small with surprise ice cream stops after school. On a random day, I would make hot breakfast on some mornings before taking them to school, and then simply just taking them to the park after homework was completed or just going for a walk before or after dinner. Now what happened surprised me because not only did my kids start looking forward to these small moments, but I also felt the weight of mom guilt lifting. I wasn't failing because we weren't having epic summer adventures anymore. We were just simply experiencing joy in a different way. And this shift didn't just ease the transition overwhelm and the mental load. It completely changed how we approached the school year. Now my son is still not excited about school, but at least there's something that he can look forward to, and we found ways to create meaningful moments without the guilt implemented. Simple systems that preserved. Our connection and also gave ourselves permission to embrace the school year differently. So today I want to share exactly how you can do this, but before we do that, we need to do some mental work so that we can prepare ourselves for the fun stuff. In order to ease the transition from summer to back to school, you have to start with reframing the way that you see summer's end, you want to start by reframing the end of summer as a beginning to a new season and not an end to something. So yes, while summer break is ending, the idea here is to think about what growths are going to be taking place, what new adventures are out there for you and your family. The transition from summer to school, it doesn't mean that joy ends. It's just changing. Remember Ecclesiastes from last week's episode where I shared how Solomon reminds us that everything has its own season. If you missed that episode, go and take a listen to it after this one because it's so good, so good. But anyway, trust me when I say this, the mindset that you have about transitions directly impact. Your experience of them. When you see school as the end to fun, you create unnecessary stress for yourself and for your children if you are outwardly expressing it. Now, this is where Matthew 11, 28 and 30 speaks so powerfully Because Jesus says, come to me all who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me. For I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Now what I'm seeing are invitations. Invitations to go to him and then to take his yoke. And then he says to learn from him and for me, these are powerful actions or really commands. This reminds me of what Jesus says in John 14, six, where he says, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes through the Father except through me, So come to him because he is the way, when we're overwhelmed by transitions, we don't need to figure out the path forward on our own And then take his yoke upon you because his yoke connects us to the truth of his character, which he says, gentle and humble. Rather than the harsh burden of trying to manage everything perfectly, we can take comfort in the yoke that he invites us to take. And then lastly, that third invitation is to learn from him because in his gentleness, we find the abundant life and rest that our souls and even our mind desperately needs during these chaotic seasons. when you really think about the character of God and how Jesus has done such a wonderful job reflecting that. It makes you want to go to him. It makes you wanna rest in him and be with him because of that gentleness, that calm and peaceful feeling that we are all searching for, especially in this time of transition. Transition is hard because we are not only changing our routines, but we are also going to be technically starting again with something new. And so when we exchange our negative mindset for his perspective, that's sees new beginnings. Not just endings, it changes our entire perspective and our entire experience When we were getting ready to move across the country last year, we were sad that a big and new change was happening in our life. We knew we were going to be moving, but we didn't know exactly where. And that's the surprise element. If you are part of a military family, this is gonna sound very familiar to you, but if you're not, then. In the military, there's this moving cycle. It's called PCS, and that's just basically where they relocate you to a different place. Well, my husband and I knew that we were up for this PCS moving cycle,, but we just didn't know where we were going to be moving to. And then when we received the news that we were going to be moving to California, we were not all that excited to begin with First, because it's a very, very long drive to go from North Carolina to California. And then secondly, we were gonna be really far away from our families, and we were just simply not looking forward to this move. But if we had stayed in that negative mindset, the entire move would have felt way longer than it really was. And we would've missed out on so many beautiful opportunities to see the magnificent beauty of the desert and to be present on that road trip. Plus we would've missed out on God's presence in all of the big and small moments. And the same is true with summer ending. So to keep that excitement for your new school year, start by creating a yearly hoorah that everyone looks forward to. Maybe that's one final picnic on the beach while watching the sunset or camping out in the backyard. If you're a creative person, you can always put together a memory sharing activity. And then what I'm about to share with you is something that my kids truly enjoy doing, which is. Watching videos about themselves from summer adventures, past adventures, and even their baby videos. So what my husband will do is connect his phone to the TV through the Bluetooth, And we just have a family watch party where we review all the fun moments that we've captured. We get to see them relive the moments. And then they also talk about the adventures itself and ideas start coming up for the next time that we go on. Another adventure, which is amazing because we're pre-planning too, and not even really trying. It's just everyone enjoying the moment because they love seeing themself on the big screen. So now that we've worked together to refocus our mind on how we think about summer ending and school beginning, let's talk about how we can begin to create pockets of joy throughout the school year. There are countless ways that you can do this, and I highly encourage you to give at least one of these a try. Some of these might require a little more planning, but they're going to be so worth it. These small but mighty surprises and thoughtful gestures can have just as much impact as a big summer vacation, And I have to admit, sometimes it is even more impactful because they're unexpected. I have heard that the start of the school year is like a second new year. The excitement, maybe the nervousness or even uncertainty of what's ahead is very similar to how we feel when we are about to step into a new. Calendar year. So with that in mind, let's think about how we can sparkle joy through the rigid school year. Because kids love to connect and while I'm no scientist, I'll bet their world and mind lights up when they're doing something that breaks up the monotony of their daily routine. It's also a fantastic way to lead by example and to show your kids that joy is not dependent on your circumstances. It can be found. Anywhere, and this actually echoes Paul and Philippians four 11 where he says, I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. Paul's contentment wasn't passive acceptance. it was actively finding joy in every circumstance. Similarly, we're not just accepting the school year, but actively creating moments of joy within it. This contentment mindset frees us from comparing seasons, so summer versus school, and instead it empowers us to intentionally find joy in whatever season we're in. So one of my favorite ways to create these pockets of joy is through surprise notes. I like to call them little love notes, where I write a message that reminds my kids of their potential, what I love about them, wishing them a great day, and always signing off with I love use, and it's so simple because I just use the things that I already have around the house, like colored card stock, colorful, sticky notes, colorful pens that I use for journaling. And sometimes I'll write it on a napkin or I'll just take printer paper and I'll rip it up. Write a note on there so that it's not just a big sheet of paper, but I just try to make it as festive and as fun as possible. Now, after I write these little love notes, I'll put them in their lunchboxes. But if your kids don't take home lunches to school, you can still do this, instead of a lunchbox, you can sneak it into their binders or folders. This is going to be an awesome way to light up their day. It lets them know that you're thinking about them, and is incredibly fun for them to read, especially if they've had a field trip that day and you say something like, I hope you had a blast on your trip. And it's just really nice for them to get that note, even if it's just one or two sentences long. A second favorite way to add pockets of joy in the school year is by sneaking in a small little treat that they can either eat before or after their school lunches. Now let's be honest. I'm not there to monitor them and tell them that they can't eat this piece of candy or this treat until they finish their lunch. So they also get to make that choice for themself, which is technically an added bonus of joy for them, and you know, I'm sure they enjoy the freedom. This is something that I honestly don't do so often, so when it happens, I actually get raving reviews when I pick them up after school, and it's always fun. I love hearing the excitement in their voice. Now, I mentioned earlier in this episode that some of these activities or some of these joyous moments might need you to pre-plan just a little bit. So the next couple ones I'm going to be talking about are going to be just that, but they're worth it. And don't worry, I'll guide you through the pre-planning phases. But as always, feel free to adjust as needed to fit your lifestyle and your family's schedule and whatever their needs are. So the first one is going to the park after the kids are finished with homework. This gives them time to burn off energy, to decompress, and it works like an appetite for dinner, which is amazing. I've also found, which is a double bonus for me, is that it helps with bedtime routine because they're exhausted after they've showered and brushed their teeth, and I have found that they fall asleep quicker. Now, this idea might be a little scary because your mind is probably racing as you're asking questions like. Well, what about dinner and the cleanup and so on and so forth. Well, I got you mama. Here are some tips that has helped me made this afterschool park visit possible. So first, you wanna pre-plan your dinner the day before you plan the weeknight park visit. When you pre-plan your dinner, it's going to take the guesswork out of wondering what's for dinner. It gives you the opportunity to also do an inventory check while their at school. That way you can make a quick grocery run or just adjust ingredients with things you already have in your fridge. And it also gives you the freedom to be present with your kids while you're at the park. So you're not trying to figure out dinner, you already know what's for dinner, and you get to play with them as well. And it's just so much fun. Now also, another tip I wanna share with you is to keep dinner simple. That has helped me tremendously in the past, and that could be anything from leftovers to even Instant Ramen night. So maybe you make a bigger batch of dinner from the day prior, and then you save a portion of that for. Dinner the next night, which is the park night that you guys are going to, and Instant Ramen. Those are always a good idea, at least in my household. We just, whip that up and add our own protein and there you go. It might not be the healthiest, but it is delicious. Now, another fun way to create pockets of joy during the school year is to grab dessert after dinner on a school night. we love doing this with our kids because it gives them a little bit of motivation to focus, to complete their homework and to finish part of their nighttime routine early. So that could be anything from making sure that their homework gets put away, preparing their backpack for school the next day, and then tidying up before we go out for ice cream. Ice cream is our family's go-to dessert, night out activity. But that doesn't mean that you have to do that. Pick something that your family enjoys and is your family's favorite, and go for it. A great way to preplan would be to think about when you are going to be serving dinner. Going out means it is going to be taking time away from your normal nightly routine. So again, the dishes, the cleanup, kids taking a shower, it all gets affected if you do not pre-plan. You also have to think about when the shop closes, as that is definitely going to play a role in when you want to serve dinner. So I might look like you just cook dinner an hour earlier than normal, so that way you can take them out for dessert and make it back home in time before it gets too late in the evening. Also, another thing to note is that Depending on where you live and the traffic, you wanna factor all of that in there as well. So mama, remember that these joy creating moments don't need to happen every day or even on a set schedule. And that's the beauty of these ideas of. They are so flexible. It's perfect for families who are already juggling afterschool activities like dance, soccer, martial arts, whatever it is, rather than adding to your plate with these things that I've just shared with you today. These moments actually work best when sprinkled into pockets of extra time that just naturally occur, so you can mix and match any of these suggestions based on what's worked for your family. Some families might choose one consistent practice, like daily love notes, while saving park visits or dessert nights for occasional surprises or special events. the goal is not perfection. It's about connecting with your family, connecting with your kids throughout the school year instead of being burnt out and waiting for your next big break. All right, mama. As you step into this back to school season, remember that it is so important for you to reframe the end of summer as a beginning and not an ending. Summer might be over, but this new season brings fresh opportunities for growth, joy, and. Connection. And once you shifted your mindset about the season, the next step is putting that perspective into action. Create pockets of joy throughout the school year with simple, intentional moments like love notes or surprise treats, or weeknight dessert outings. It doesn't have to be big or perfect to be meaningful. I know I've said this multiple times on the episode, but I'm gonna keep saying it because it's so true. The fun doesn't have to stop when summer ends. With a fresh mindset and simple practices, you can move from summer chaos into back to school routines without being weighed down by guilt or overwhelm. Alright, so take a deep breath. You've got this. And with the Lord's strength, it's time to show up as the mom you want to be because you can do hard things. Thanks for hanging out with me today, mama. If this episode helped you in any way, would you do me a favor and please share it with a fellow mom that could also benefit from this episode. Until then, I'll see you next Wednesday, right here on this podcast. Go in peace.