The transition from summer vacation back to the classroom can be a challenging one. As parents, you want to see your child thrive as they head back- to- school. Here are a few suggestions you can easily implement to make this transition easier.
Restart Routines Early
Children thrive on routines. If you’re routines during the school year are different than the ones you’ve been doing throughout summer, it’s a good idea to start transitioning your kids back to their school routines. This could mean an earlier bedtime. It could also mean stricter restrictions surrounding electronics. No matter what your schedule looks like, start getting back into the groove at least a couple weeks before school starts back up.
Back-to-School Shopping
A surefire way to get your kids excited about going back to school is to take them shopping for new supplies and/or clothes. The amount of money spent doesn’t have to be a lot, the point is to spend some quality one-on-one time with your child talking to them about the coming year. Ask them what their goals are. Find out what’s making them nervous. This will help you and your child start the year off on the right foot.
Talk about Lunches
Believe it or not, lunch can be a huge source of stress for kids at school. Make sure you talk about it with them. Show them what their options are for both a packed lunch and lunch at school. An article written by Anne Steinhoff for novakdjokovicfoundation.org explains, “In advance, ask your children about healthy food that they like to take to school. Maybe your child likes particular fruits or vegetables which you can pack as well as a healthy sandwich. You can also have a look at the school’s cafeteria and see if it offers healthy snack options.” Lastly, make sure your young children can open the packaging of any food you place into their lunches.
Familiarize Kids with their New Environment
If your child expresses their fear and/or nervousness about starting a new school, it might be helpful to familiarize your kids with their new environment. Drive over to the school and walk around the grounds. Take advantage of the open house your school will host. This will give you a chance tour inside as well. Find you child’s locker, walk them to their classes. Show them where the lunchroom is. Map out the places they will walk each day. This will help with their anxiety.
Use a Calendar
Children are often visual learners. They do really well when they can countdown the days until school starts on a calendar. It helps reduce their anxiety when they can physically see for themselves how many days are left of summer vacation. Small things like marking the first day of school down on a calendar may seem unimportant but they can make a huge difference to your kids.
Back-to-school can be an easy, smooth process when you follow these tips.