It's That Time Of The Year... School Is Back!

Updated: Sep 14, 2022

Volume 2 Issue 2

September 5, 2022

"A NEW SCHOOL YEAR

MEANS NEW BEGINNINGS, NEW ADVENTURES"

Denise Witmer

OMG....it can't already be that time of the year already!. Your kids are not ready to say goodbye to the lazy days of summer! You are not ready for the hectic schedule of balancing your already busy life with the demands that come along with adding school routines to your already loaded schedule! DON"T PANIC and DON'T STRESS.... with some proper planning and good execution you will have the ready mindset, the tools, and strategies ,in place for a smooth transition into the new school year.

Getting Ready

The funny thing is that getting ready for back to school impacts the adults as much as the kids. Children start to feel the excitement but also the anxiety of starting a new school. Parents feel the same for their children. The questions float in your mind about: Who will be my child's teacher? How will my child do academically this year? How will I manage to pick up and drop off my kid(s) prior the setting up of the school's bus schedule? You might even worry about potentially bullying or worst yet you might worry about the general safety of your child. Lastly, after 3 years of Covid, you are concerned about further disruptions to your child's education. These concerns coupled with your child's potential anxieties require some preemptive planning. Here a few tips, tricks, ideas and advice to support you and your little one....!

How To Deal With Back To School Anxiety

The first step, is acknowledging that it is normal and it is okay. The second step is to create an "end of the summer" bucket list. Have a few weeks or days left before the end of the summer? Use this time left to do some of the things you did not get to do or did not do enough of during the summer. Have you and your child identify some realistic must do 'summer' activities. For example: going to the beach; having a picnic; flying a kite or even going to an amusement park. Create the list as a checkoff and post it somewhere visible in your home like on your refrigerator. Checkoff each item as it is completed. This is a great way to end the summer without feeling regretful and the mentally ready family for the transition back to school.

Set Goals For September

For many parents and children, this isn't their first rodeo, meaning that they have experience with attending school. Even if your child is new to school, you can still have them set a goal or more for September. Setting up goals for the school year is important because if provides a focus, a drive and accountability for your child and yourself.

The best way to start goal setting is for your child to reflect on their prior school.

⭐️Your child should Identify what went well and what needs to be improved upon.

⭐️Your child should first choose 1 or 2 things that went well last school year to put on their list of goals for this year. For example, maybe last year it was effective when he / she followed a set schedule for their after school routine therefore this year, a goal would be for your child to have an established schedule for this school .

⭐️Next have your child add to their goals list 2 to 4 new areas that they would like to improve upon this school year. For example: your child could have a goal of reading more; raising their hand more in the classroom; joining a school activity, improving math skills or perhaps working on being more organized / neater with their school materials.

This activity can be done by parents as well. Parents can self reflect. You can do so by making a list of things that went well last year and the areas that you feel need to be done better or differently this year. Think of this goal list like a vision board. You are visualizing how you want the new school year to be!

Grab a book!

Another way to ease your child into a new school year is to read a book. There are tons of books about attending school for your pre-k through 5th grade child or even higher grades. Books are a great way for children to get inspiration and build excitement about the new school year. Pick up a book or two to get your child's mind ready for back to school. Here are a few teacher favorites to start with this new school year:

A Space For Learning

Create a space in your home for academic learning. Your child will work best in a space that is calm, orderly and without distractions. If your home allows, designate a space using: comfortable furniture, color, a table and some educational decor. Here are some images of learning spaces in homes that are great for doing homework or studying at home. These images were taken from the website: The Spruce.

Set Up A Calendar

Get organized to keep track of the new school year. Lots of dates and events will be coming up. As a parent, you want to be able to make time for parental involvement when it comes to your child's educational experience. Studies have shown a direct correlation between more parental involvement and better educational outcomes for children.

These are a few options:

📆-You can do the old fashion paper calendar to post all important school dates and events.

📆-Use your phone and set up the dates on Google calendar. Google calendar will alert you and give you reminders so you won't miss a thing.

📆-You can sign up with the teacher's communication app. Some teachers use Class Dojo, Seesaw, TalkingPoints, Klassly, and Remind as well as as other communication apps.. These apps are great for getting immediate and up to date information. Often you can also use it to communicate directly with the teacher.

Downloadable & Printable Learning Materials

Now just take a deep breath and release, you and your child will have an amazing school year. Having a positive mindset and a plan will be the the foundation for a beautiful year of learning, growing and exploring.

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