It’s that special time of year that parents shout with excitement while kids groan in dismay…it’s back to school time. This time of year can bring about lots of different emotions for both kids and parents so I wanted to share some advice to help with this transition. The biggest word of advice would be PLAN.
Sleep: It is so hard to go from staying up late and sleeping in to getting up early and out the door to school. Try not to wait until the night before school starts to change the sleep pattern. I suggest starting about a week before slowly having your child go to bed a little earlier each night so that the night before school starts isn’t a huge change.
Morning routine: Mornings in my house are always like a marathon getting everyone out the door and in the car with everything they need on time. This is another place where planning really comes in. I have seen some people get a little 5 drawer storage container and put the clothes in for the whole week, so each drawer is a different day. I love this idea and am hoping to implement that this year for my own kids. I know for us socks tend to be the hardest issue so we will definitely have to make sure they are matched and ready to go at the beginning of the week.
Lunch: Make sure you know ahead of time whether your child is getting a school lunch or bringing one. Last year all school lunches were free, but that’s not the case this year so make sure to either apply for free/reduced lunch or send in money if your child is getting school lunch. I try to get lunches as ready as possible the night before. I put in anything that doesn’t have to be refrigerated so I just need to throw in an ice pack and any cold items in the morning. I try to get water bottles ready the night before too and stick them in the fridge so I can just grab them out in the morning.
Emotions: Going back to school can bring up lots of emotions from excitement to anxiety. It’s important to support those different emotions your child is having. There are some books that can help especially younger kids. A good series is The Night Before series. Author Natasha Wong has written many books, including The Night Before Kindergarten, First Grade and a new Second grade book. In addition, some other good books are The Kissing Hand, The Day You Begin, The Pigeon Has to go to School and many more. Make sure you talk with your child ahead of time about things like lunch and how he will get to and leave school and the types of things to expect at the school these tend to be things children can get anxious about.
Working with your child’s teacher: I have been in the classroom teaching for the last 13 years and it is so important to get on the same page as the teacher. Last year I had a parent give me a “favorite things” form to fill out at the beginning of the year and I thought it was such a sweet idea. (Click here for teacher’s favorite things survey!) I was able to write down some things I liked and that helped the parent when she wanted to get me gifts for the holidays or end of the year. I’ll link a few ones that you can use. I also feel like it’s important to give as much background as you can about your child. The teacher will know basic things like if they have an IEP or 504 plan, but it’s nice to get more details than that. I sent an email to my 1st grader’s teacher just giving some background on him. It’s hard to do this at open house because I can tell you as a teacher it can be a lot of information and hard to keep every student’s info straight so that’s why I did it separate from that. If you have concerns about something in the classroom, please go to the teacher first. When you are getting information from your child it’s easy to not get the full picture so it’s always good to reach out to the teacher if there is something you would like to know more about. Remember the teacher wants your child to be successful just like you do and one of the easiest ways to achieve that is to work together.
Life can definitely get busy and it’s not always possible to plan as much as we would like, but putting some of these ideas and routines in place will hopefully make the beginning of the school year go a little smoother.
Written by:
Ashley Tabachnick, Parenting Educator