(Thanks for the post, Arthur Lawrence)

During winter break, my kids developed a couple of bad habits. First, they stayed up late because there was no school that they had to wake up for. Second, they spent a lot of time on video games and watching TV. They are good kids and have done well during the previous semester, so I decided to let them slack a bit during vacation.

Once the return to school began getting near, though, it was time to begin reintegrating my kids to their school schedule. This meant putting them to bed at earlier times. I cut a half hour off their bedtime every night for the three nights prior to school restarting (I had been letting them stay up an extra hour and a half). I also began waking them up earlier until they were getting up near their normal school wake-up times. And also setting the security alarm to know they are safe.

I also had them cut down on the video games and TV and spend more time reading (which was a major challenge) and playing board games with the family (not as much of a challenge). By the time the first school day back came around, they were at least slightly more focused.

Now that they're back, they have readjusted in no time. They are pretty flexible, although there was some serious complaining and hopes for a snow day.