Kids usually have a mix of feelings about going back to school. Depending on the child, they may be excited to see friends they’ve lost contact with over the summer and at the thought of moving another year up. But they may also feel some nerves that come with change and uncertainty.
Here are a few ways to prepare them for success:
1) Schedule a half-hour each day for reading (maybe at bedtime) and another half-hour to go over last year’s math problems – Just like we adults run through presentations for meetings vs. going in cold, practicing and being prepared to participate, perform, and succeed is important. And teachers often report spending most of the first month of school reviewing lessons from the previous year. So continuing this bit of “extra” even after kids are back to the classroom can be really helpful. School Zone’s big 320-page workbooks are excellent for this, including Big First Grade, Big Second Grade, and Big Third Grade.
2) Ease into a new bedtime/wake-up routine – TV station KDKA, CBS affiliate in Pittsburgh, recently did a segment on how to effectively do this, including an interview with Dr. Daniel Shade, a sleep specialist. He suggests moving up bedtime 15 minutes every few days for a couple/few weeks and cutting off blue light from devices an hour before bedtime. Blue light affects melatonin, a hormone that helps regulate sleep-wake cycles and makes us feel sleepy. The reporter notes that shutting down devices also keeps kids from seeing messages that might get their minds racing.
3) Shop for school supplies – Get together and go over the list: Backpacks, pens, pencils, pencil sharpeners, crayons, notebooks, sketch pads, highlighters, folders, and for older kids, a scientific calculator. If you can, connect with your child’s teacher ahead of time to see what else might be needed. Make the shopping trip an even more special outing or tradition by grabbing lunch at a favorite restaurant or getting ice cream. Recap the summer and get their take on the upcoming school year.
4) Set goals – How did last year go? How can this year be different? In July, Parents magazine published “How to Help Your Kid Set Goals for the School Year” by Amanda Morin. It says that setting goals has benefits that range “from helping your student succeed academically to teaching them critical life skills like independence and organization.” It offers ideas for explaining goal-setting using game goals in sports as an analogy and also brainstorming goals and teaching the “language” of goal-setting. The article says, “Make sure your child knows how to work toward a goal, including how to strategize, organizer, and prioritize.” It urges discussing both short-term and long-term goals and “the value of chunking their goal into smaller pieces.”
5) Walk through and talk through “what ifs” – School isn’t just about academics. It’s about building relationships and the skills for navigating them. Kids who struggle with anxiety, ADD, or similar issues may have added challenges. But by and large, it’s important for kids to know their fears or concerns are neither unique nor unusual. Almost everyone has them, even if they don’t seem like it. What if they have problems with their teacher? Or a friend? Or their school work? Role-play some solutions. Learning to appropriately deal with emotions is an important part of their growth, and School Zone’s online learning app, Anywhere Teacher, has several activities to help with social-emotional skills, including Emotions Flash Cards. They define, explain, and illustrate different emotions and offer coping strategies, i.e., “”If I am worried I could…”
With a little academic, physical, material, goal-setting, and emotional prep and support, kids can step into a new school year with confidence and enthusiasm.
