Get Back on Track for Fall

What's worse than sitting in class waiting for school to let out for summer break? Going back to school while it's still summer! Although your dreams are still filled with sunshine and seemingly endless hours of daylight, your daytime reality is screaming for you to focus and get on track.

To help you ease into the new school year, we've come up with a few cool ways to start the school year off on the right foot.

Gear up

Speaking of getting off on the right feet, fall accessories like scarves, jackets, and boots can help shift your mood from summer to fall.Kendall Jenner's cute metallic booties may be just the thing to tempt reluctant toes back into hiding after a glorious shoe-free summer

In fact, your whole wardrobe could use a minor rotation from summer to fall to help change your attitude. Hit your closet and drawers and bring out your cool weather favorites. Cozy sweaters, boots, light weight fall scarves, and earth tones can help your mind shift out of summer and into school gear.

Rotating your closet can also help you check your existing wardrobe and see what needs updating. If your favorite sneakers that have lost their tread or your favorite ripped jeans now have more holes than actual fabric, those items need to be replaced. But with a little effort and creativity, you may be able to infuse your old favorites with new life to live on for another season.

• Pills - the sweater fuzz, not the medicine. Those nubs that appear on well-loved sweaters that make them look too worn to wear can be removed with a sweater shaver or careful use of scissors to make your favorite cozy gear look good as new.
• Holes can be sewn up in some cases, and in others, a patch or embellishment like a gem or rhinestone, can turn something old into something bold.
• T-shirts that don't fit may have a new use, too. Save your faves and, if you're handy with a sewing machine and scissors, you can turn them into an evergreen, always fitting pillow case or quilt. Not so handy? Not to worry. There are services that can do them for you… or you can call grandma and she may be able to help!
• Accessories like belts, shoes, and handbags can be very seasonal. Swap out your bright summery colors for earth tones like brown, navy, dark red, tan, burnt orange, forest green, and any other colors you'd find on a walk through the forest on an autumn day in, say, New England. While summer fabrics are mostly cotton, linen, and lighter weaves, autumn textures are heavier, like corduroy, leather and suede, and lightweight wool.

If you're bored with your regular fall wardrobe or have outgrown your favorites, hold a clothing swap party with your besties, donate them to a local charity, bring them to a consignment shop to see if you can sell any of them, or hand them down to a younger sibling or cousin. You don't have to spend a fortune to fill in the blanks on your staple wardrobe.

Embrace Autumn

Fall sports and activities always signal the change of the seasons, even if the weather is still warm enough for swimming pools and days at the beach. Get together with friends for a friendly game of flag football or plan an evening bonfire now that it's getting darker out earlier and the evenings are getting cooler. Nothing says cozy like s'mores cooked over a fire pit!

Say Hello to Autumn!

Not a big sports fan or afraid of fire? No problem. How about some fun fall activities?

• Apple picking
• Pumpkin carving
• Corn or hay mazes
• Planning for Halloween
• Collecting fall leaves
• Knitting or crocheting a scarf or beanie in time for winter
• Drinking tea or apple cider
• Making an apple cobbler
• Put together a spice sachet filled with whole cloves, cinnamon sticks, nutmeg, and star anise
• Buy scented candles or potpourri
• Going on a bike ride

Get your head in the game

Getting back into the school groove isn't easy for anyone (even teachers!), but there are a few things you can do to help you get your mind back on track for learning and focus.

• Find Your Zen  
• Learn about 5 ways meditation can help you in school
• Brush up on your study skills
• Discover your learning style
• Dish about school with other kids and find an answer to your most burning question: "Does school suck?"
• Smarten up your study skills with even more great tips
• Set your intention to get good grades early in the year so you're prepared for when the big challenges hit. 
• Create a study play list. Studies have shown that listening to music can help you focus and retain more information when you study. Sometimes it takes a while to figure out which types of music inspire you and which are more distracting. Some people like to listen to pop music in the background, while others prefer instrumental, jazz, or classical music. Looking for an unusual playlist? Video game fans may enjoy video-game inspired soundtracks, while action movie buffs could try inspiring action movie soundtracks which include the powerful background instrumentals that often play during epic scenes.