With summer coming to an end and school supplies slowly being drained out of every retail store, it is time to start preparing for the beginning of yet another school year. No matter how old your kids may be, it is your job to begin planning for the school year weeks in advance and start preparing. School supplies shopping, planning your new work schedule, and getting everything organized before school starts are important to start the year off right.
While many parents get excited about the beginning of the school year, since they won’t have to worry about entertaining their kiddos anymore, getting ready for back to school is never fun. While the planning and preparing is a challenge for many parents, one of the more difficult tasks is getting your children back on the school schedule.
Throughout the summer, your children are staying up late, running rampant, and not following a strict schedule. While this is fine during the few months they have off of school, getting them back on that school schedule is important if you want the transition into the new school year to go smoothly.
At Growing Kids Learning Centers, we know that the beginning of the school year can be rough for everyone. We know that this is the time of year the kids dread and parents look forward to. If you need some last-minute tips for making the transition back into the school schedule easier, read on. We will give you tips for getting back into the groove of school. If you have kiddos that will be heading to school in the next few years, be sure to check out one of our ten Growing Kids Learning Centers!
Ease Into The Routine
Rather than jumping right back into the school year on the first day of school, you will want to ease back into your school routine. If you let your children stay up a little later in the summer, make them start going to bed earlier a few weeks before school starts. Getting them back on a school schedule at least a week early can help make the transition easier for them and you.
You will also want to ease back into the habit of getting up and getting ready for school. A week before school starts have your children get up, get dressed, and eat breakfast before they go and enjoy their last few days of summer. Have them get used to spending some time after dinner doing work. This will help them get back into the routine of doing homework. While you don’t have to actually make them do work during this time, you can sit down and read a book with them, do some crafts, or color together. Just spending time after dinner focusing on a task can help prepare them for the homework they will soon be doing.
Easing back into the school schedule can help make this transition easier for everyone. Not only will your children get back on a good sleeping schedule, but they will restart those morning and night routines. Instead of jumping into this routine, slowly add these schedules back in.
Start Planning
Summer is a time of the year when there seems to be no structure, schedule, or planning. Your children are playing at all hours of the day, you are always doing one of the million tasks on your to-do list, and it is hard to make a plan for anything. Dinner is often pizza or whatever you can find in your fridge that is easy to throw together. While the freedom of summer is great for many people, this freedom generally cannot continue into the school year.
If you want to make the transition back to the school schedule to go smoothly, you will want to start planning. Plan when you will drop your kids off and when you will pick them up. Make plans if you need to change your work schedule for these pick-up and drop off times. Make plans for food each week — what breakfast will your children eat, what will you pack them for lunch, and what you will make for dinner.
When you start planning out your days with detail, you will be able to fall back into the school schedule with ease. This will help make this transition easier for you and your kids, and you will be able to stop worrying about food or scheduling issues.
Practice The First Day
If you or your child is nervous or stressed about the first day of school, do a practice run. A practice run can help both of you get a better idea of how the mornings will go and how much time you will realistically need to get ready. Talk to your child about their morning schedule during the school year and practice it a few days before the school year actually begins.
Have them wake up in the morning at the time that they would wake up during the actual school year. Give them time to get dressed, eat breakfast, get their school supplies together, and do whatever else they need to do to get ready for school. You can pack a lunch and do whatever else you would be doing during an actual school day. Walk or drive to school together and be sure to note how long it takes you, especially if you will have to make it to work after dropping your child off. Add a few minutes because, during the actual school year, you will be dealing with other parents, busy parking lots, and school traffic.
While practicing the first day of school may seem like an excessive preparation process, it can really help you get a better idea of how long you both will need in the morning and will calm some nerves, especially if this is your child’s first year of school.
Address Your Child’s Concerns
For many children, the first day of school is stressful and scary. While you may think that the first day of school should not be a big deal because they have done it before, just remember how you felt on the first day of school. This is a new school year for your child. They have a new teacher, new kids in their class, and they haven’t been in a classroom in a few months. They don’t know what this school year will be like or what they will learn. This is a stressful time for them and as their parent, you need to listen to their concerns and help address these things.
If they are nervous about their new teacher, call ahead and set up a meeting with their teacher before the year starts. If they don’t know what they are going to learn, ask the teacher for the curriculum or a quick outline of what they will be learning. If they are just nervous, ask what you can do to help them and do that. Talk excitedly about the new year and remind them how much they loved school last year. It is always scary starting something new but after the first few days, your child should be excited about school once again!
Plan a Family Night
Before the school year starts, you will want to get your kiddos back on the school schedule, but you will also want to spend some time with them before your lives get hectic. Planning a family night not only allows you to make sure they go to bed on time, but it gives you a chance to spend time with your children before school starts. This is a fun way to end summer and enjoy the last few days before starting school again. Plan a dinner and a movie night, go bowling, spend all day at the park, or do whatever else your family enjoys doing together. This is a great idea for the night before school starts. However, you can incorporate a few family nights into your routine the week before school begins. You can also make this a tradition throughout the rest of the year. Every Sunday, plan a family night so that you can all spend time together and get everyone to bed on time before the week begins.
Planning ahead and knowing the schedule will make transitioning back to the school schedule simpler for you and your kiddos. There are many ways that you can get back to your school routine and help your children get back on schedule as well. Hopefully, these tips will help you get started and begin preparing for the start of the school year.
At Growing Kids Learning Centers in Northern Indiana, we offer a variety of different programs from infant programs to kindergarten. We also offer after school programs for school-aged children, which make it easier for you to get your work done and not worry about picking your child up on time. If you are looking for a new school for your child or have a little one who will be starting preschool or kindergarten soon, be sure to check out our programs and contact one of our locations today!
