Welcome back to Beyond the Crops, where farm life meets real life! In this episode, your hosts Jena Ochsner and Mary Pat Sass are tackling a topic on every parent's mind: heading back to school. With a fantastic listener question, they dive into prepping advice, lunch ideas, and strategies for managing the morning chaos. Coming from two different perspectives this year—Mary Pat sending her kids to school and Jena embarking on her first year of homeschooling—this conversation is packed with practical tips and relatable truths for any family navigating this seasonal shift.

📌 What We Cover in This Episode:

✅ A quick recap of their trip to Beck's Hybrids Technology Days.
✅ Prepping for the school year
✅ Strategies for mastering the morning rush
✅ Practical and easy breakfast and lunchbox ideas
✅ The importance of mindset: Giving yourself grace, using mantras to stay calm, and creating small connection rituals with your kids.
✅ A call for listeners to share their best back-to-school advice on Instagram.

💡 Key Takeaways:

✨ Plan backwards, add cushion. The most effective way to build a successful morning routine is to figure out when you need to leave and plan every step backward from there, adding extra time for the unexpected.
✨ Prep the night before. A few minutes of prep—laying out clothes, packing what you can, and cleaning the kitchen—can save you immense stress the next morning.
✨ Establish a "drop zone." Designate a specific spot for all school-related items to land the second your kids walk in the door. It’s a game-changer for organization.
✨ Give yourself grace. Whether it's your first year with kids in school or you're starting a new homeschool journey, this is a huge transition. It won't be perfect, and that's okay.
✨ Find moments to connect. Amid the morning rush, find a small ritual—like a prayer, a song, or a specific question—to connect with your kids before they start their day.

This episode of Beyond the Crops is brought to you by Beck's Hybrids. As farmers, we pour so much trust into every decision. That's why we're proud to partner with Beck's Hybrids, a company built on faith, family, and a love for agriculture since 1937. Learn more at beckshybrids.com.

🙌 Join the Conversation!
We're taking Jena's idea and running with it! Head over to our Instagram @beyondthecrops_ and find this week's episode post. In the comments, share your #1 best back-to-school tip for a busy farm family. Let's help each other out!

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