“Back to School” Made Easier
It’s that time of year again – the end of Summer hols/vacations, and the beginning of a new school year. Going back to school can be stressful for you and for your children. And even if it’s not exactly stressful, it does require a change of pace.
You have to go from holiday mood to routine. Some parents don’t change the routine much during the whole holidays, which on one hand makes life easier but most of us need a few weeks of relaxation and less pressure, so we purposefully change the routine and the pace. We allow our children to get up later, go to bed later and probably watch far more TV during the holidays than the rest of the year.
So how can you prepare? How can you avoid a sudden rush to get everything ready – uniforms, shoes, pencil case etc. But apart from the practical issues, how do you help your child to a psychological and emotional state of readiness?
Top Tips for School Readiness
1. Start getting into a routine for the last few weeks of the hols. It doesn’t have to be the whole school routine but just a definite reminder that soon you will be back to a routine.
2. Spend a bit more time with your child doing age appropriate school work. But do it in your own way so it’s not like he/she suddenly has homework to do for you. Find a fun project, get an education computer game and sit with him/her to do it.
3. Talk about the excitement of a new school year with new teachers, new classroom, new subjects on the curriculum. Ask questions which begin with “What” like “what are you most looking forward to? And although you don’t want to introduce negatives you can ask “What are you most worried/nervous about?” Don’t dwell on it –just make sure you’re there to listen if your child wants to share.
4. Plan ahead with meals especially for the first few weeks when school begins so that:
a) you can include food which your child enjoys since that will make him/her feel happier at home and
b) it means that certainly for the first few weeks, you can spend more time with your child after school without worrying about what to cook. So hopefully you as a parent will be less stressed about cooking and you can “be there” for your child.
5. Prepare a countdown calendar. Make the calendar with your child so it’s more fun. Put on it the activities you still plan to do before the holidays end. Also put in some school preparation dates so your child feels secure that you will spend the time buying the essentials – the uniform, the shoes, any stationary etc. You might even want to plan on your calendar a date for room tidying so the year starts with your child’s bedroom being fully organized.
6. Create a going back to school tradition. This helps your child to say goodbye to holiday time and get ready for the next phase of the year –back to school.
Suggestions for an Annual Tradition
· Make a height chart and mark your child’s height at this time of the year, so annually he/she can see how much they’ve grown.
· Print those holiday pictures and make a scrapbook/album with a big label Summer 2010 and then next year do the same.
· Make a special end of the Summer meal. Let your child choose the menu and help cook it. I wouldn’t recommend you do it the night before school begins as that needs to be a calm early night but create a tradition for the Sunday lunch before school begins –or Saturday tea –or whatever works for you.
· Make a special last outing and plan to return to the same place each year as the last “day out”-even though it could be quite a local place.
If you have any other ideas please share with us.
For parenting coaching sessions and further information, please contact Bebe Jacobs at:
Or email: info@parentingcoachingnow.com
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