Back To School Readiness Tips: 4 Easy Ways To Get Back On Track. These simple ideas can help make your back to school run more smoothly.
Where did the summer go? With the days getting shorter and school supplies appearing in every store, it’s time to start getting your kids ready to start school again. Below are a few ideas to help prepare you and your kids for the big day.
Back To School Readiness Tips
1.) Check in with your kids
It is important to find out how your kids are feeling about the start of school. Some kids start missing the routines and schedules right after the Fourth of July while other kids dread morning alarms and homework. It can be very helpful to check in with your kids to assess their feelings.
Start preparing them a few weeks before the first day by asking them how they are feeling about the start of school. If they are reluctant to give you an answer, it may be because they are feeling apprehensive or nervous. Try asking open ended questions like, “What is one scary thing about the first day of school?” “What is one exciting thing about having a new teacher?”
Find other kids who will be in the same class and set up play dates. Having just one friend in class can help ease first day jitters. Check your library for picture books about the first day of school to help start the conversation.
2.) Do Some Homework
Most book stores carry skills books for each grade level. Even if you didn’t do any work over the summer, the last two weeks of summer are the perfect time to brush up on their skills. Many kids get a confidence boost from reviewing skills they learned in the previous year. Reacquainting them with reading and math skills can give them that confidence.
If you don’t have a book, just practice addition, subtraction, multiplication and division facts. Try to have your kids read independently or with you each night before bed. Ask questions about their reading to help with comprehension.
3.) Get back in a routine
During the last few weeks of summer, I try to cram in every last bit of fun. About a week before the start of school it is helpful to get back into a routine, especially at bedtime. Kids need to reset their internal sleep clocks. If they are up late all summer, the night before school might be disastrous.
I try and push bedtime back about 15 minutes each night until I get to an ideal bedtime for school. Besides getting to sleep earlier, I also cut back screen time and get my kids in the shower each night so that they know what to expect the first week of school. The school routine can carry over into the morning as well. I have my kids get dressed and eat breakfast instead of laying around in pjs the week before school. I find this helps them slip right back into school routines.
4.) Make them a part of the excitement!
Let’s face it; back to school time is very busy. It is so much easier to leave the kids at home and go pick up supplies, clothes and the essentials. Making kids a part of the preparations can be beneficial to you both.
I like to let my kids pick their own folders, binders and pencils (as long as the supply lists allows). I find that my kids are more likely to take care of the supplies that they chose. The same thing goes for back to school clothes. I tell my each of my kids their budget and let them choose a few items that fit into that price range.
Another way to get them involved is planning lunches to bring to school. We search the internet for lunch box ideas and then go shopping. We pack the lunches the night before school. I find that the more choices the kids are involved with, the less complaining there is.
The most important thing to remember is to keep the kids involved in the planning and excitement that September brings. These simple ideas can help make your back to school run more smoothly.
Happy First Day of School!
Anne Davis
Need more articles about back to school readiness? Keep reading:
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- 10 back to school items to label each year
- 5 tips to help ease those back to school jitters
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