5 Back to School DAD Hacks

School time is here!!!

Here are 5 Ways You Can Rock Back to School… (This post contains affiliate links of products we like)

1.  Take Care of Your Wife

Alright men, lets be honest…most of us let our better half take care of most of the prep work involved in the start of a new school year.  Am I right?  (No? Ok, well man, kudos to you – you win Dad of the year!  Take the following advice for YOURSELF)

Want some brownie points?  Take my advise…Give your wife a:

“You Survived the Summer” present

My wife loves Etsy.  You really can’t go too wrong with an Etsy Gift card or a unique gift from there.  Or check out these gift ideas.

No present money left after school supplies?  That’s ok…it’s nothing that an at home date won’t fix.  Go to your local store and buy some of her favorite sweets – for my wife, it’s Blue Bell Ice Cream but it could be your wife’s favorite candy bar or candy.  Write a heart felt note telling her how much you appreciate all the work she’s done to take care of your family…in your own handwriting.  It doesn’t have to be poetry…just a few sentences expressing your love and appreciation.

Stumped?  Check out LifeHack’s 10 Ideas for Writing a Letter of Love.

After the kids are asleep, put a table cloth or sheet over the kitchen table, light a candle and put on some music…bring your wife in and have a mini date.  If you want to make those brownie points increase exponentially during dinner time, take on some of her normal duties – whatever they might be…do the dishes, put the kids to bed while she relaxes…you get the point.  Rack up those brownie points!

2. Back-to-School Break Outs

Steal your kids away at night so they can tell you all about school. Moms might not like this one too much but its so impactful that she’ll go for it. Put your kids to bed as usual and then 10 mins later (hopefully before they really fall asleep) wake them up and take them on a special get away. We have a RaceTrack near our home with a frozen yogurt bar so sometimes I’ll take them to get something special. As we down our late night treat, ask them questions about how school is going.

Have trouble thinking of what to ask?

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OR – Take your kids on a night safari BEFORE bed. Grab a flash light and investigate the yard, search for bugs – let them lead! If you find anything interesting, sit down and talk about it…look up any specimens you find on Google. Or just simply go for a night stroll – they’ll love it!

3. Home Invasion

Plan a Home Invasion!

After a few weeks or two everyone is settling into a routine and things might be getting a little bit boring, so why not shake it up a little?  Try setting up one of the following for when the kids arrive home from school (if you can’t be there before they get home from school, have your wife or relative take your kids out while you setup):

Water Balloon War – Fill up some water balloons of two different colors (forget the old fashioned way, check THESE OUT) and put them in two different laundry baskets (bags or boxes can be used instead) and tell them to pick a side (color) and meet you in the backyard.  Be there ready and waiting!  Want to really make them laugh?  Use paint or your wife’s makeup (be gentle, they don’t really like their makeup messed with) to put on some war paint!  War it out and have a snack ready for afterward.  They’ll never forget it!

Nerf Gun Battle – It’s Daddy vs EVERYONE!  Same premise as the water balloon war but this time it’s nerf guns and there are only two teams – YOU vs everyone (mom included). To make it fair, we think Dad should get this bad boy:  Nerf CS-18 N-Strike Elite Rapidstrike

Again, think ahead and have a snack waiting when everyone is done.  It doesn’t have to be fancy – maybe just fruit snacks…or popcorn.

Scavenger Hunt – Plan out a scavenger hunt and have a treat for the whole family once the hunt is complete.  This could be a family movie night or their favorite dessert. There are so many different ways to do scavenger hunts for different age levels – check out the ideas we’ve rounded up.

4. 1st Day of School Daddy Breakfast

I don’t know how things go down in your house but on hurried mornings in our house, a Daddy Breakfast staple is DONUTS!  My kids love donuts and it’s a quick and easy buy in the mornings. Little effort – great reward!  ESPECIALLY if I pick up some chocolate milk to go with breakfast!  Yes, the bad for you kind.  But hey, if you’re health conscious – good for you…maybe you could make your own healthier version of donuts by using one of these cool things or by following this healthy recipe without that thing.

You don’t have to do donuts – my kids love biscuits & gravy, eggs and bacon OR you could do pancakes like Mickey over at YourModernDad does and REALLY win them over.

5. Start an Adventure

You hear it all the time – Reading is good for your kids…well, that’s because, it is.  While I admit, my wife does most of the reading to our kids and sometimes to me – it’s never too late for you to start an adventure through one of your favorite books with your kids.  Just 10 minutes of reading before bed will help your kids establish a good bed time routine when they’re starting back to school.

Here are a few of our favorites:

• C.S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia
• My Father’s Dragon By Ruth Stiles Gannett
• The Boxcar Children By Gertrude Chandler Warner

I know you’re SUPERDad but don’t attempt to do all 5 hacks at once!  Take it a week at a time and enjoy your kids – that’s what it’s all about!

Tell us what Dad Hack you’re going to try in the comments!

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