School is Almost Here, Are You Ready?

by Donna

Getting ready for BACK TO SCHOOL.  That is right…I’m ready to talk about it.

I personally have very mixed feelings about school. I have a daughter going to 4^th grade, and a son going to Kindergarten…all day…8:30-3:30…wow.  Summer has been so weird here in Ohio.  I would not be exaggerating if I said it has rained half the summer.  Our weather has been very mild and it just has not felt like summer in so many ways,  yet it is almost over.

So on to the subject of this post.  With back to school coming within a few weeks, we really need to start preparing our kids.  With summer comes flexible schedules, non-regulated bedtimes, breakfast at anytime, lunch at anytime, wake-up at anytime…you get the point.  Preparing our kids now will really help with the school transition in a few weeks.

Ideas to help get back into school routine & help your Kindergartner:

• Have a set bedtime, try to adjust in small increments over the next few weeks to get back to school night bedtime.

• Talk to your kids about the importance of eating breakfast at the time it is given  (My son doesn’t like to eat except when he is hungry, he is going to have a wake up call when he can’t do that in school  so we are talking through this and I am setting timers to remind of snacks/lunches so he gets a feel of how long he must go without snacks etc)

• Start having times of “school work” with your kids. It doesn’t have to be long; it doesn’t have to be too structured. I have a few different workbooks and some pages the school sent for us to work on. I let my son/daughter choose what they want to do. I set the # of pages, they choose. They feel like they are in control, yet they are still getting back into the habit of “thinking” again! I also reward them with a snack, so it isn’t dreaded the next time I ask them to do it.

• Ditch morning TV time. I admit, my kids watch too much TV in the summer, especially in the mornings.  We don’t allow the kids to watch TV before school, so I need to get them out of turning the TV on when they wake up, because in a few weeks we won’t have time!

• The school my kids go to doesn’t require us to buy any school supplies (I know, you are jealous!!) But we do have uniforms. My son is incredibly picky about what he wears, so the best thing I can do for him and myself is involve him in buying his clothing and shoes. If he says he doesn’t like it, I’m not buying it;  it will only cause more headaches in the future.  The same goes for my 4^th grader, she knows the styles she likes and dislikes. I know it is hard to take kids shopping, so maybe buying lots of stuff and coming home to try on will work better for you. But give your kids a say…it WILL help YOU out!

• Talk to your kids as to what to expect when they come home from school.  Make a schedule, snack, homework, play….etc. Make sure they know what to expect, but leave room for adjustment. Last year we did snack and homework before anything, I think I may try something different his year…but start thinking about what works for you and let your kids know ahead of time, it will help the transition.

I need your help too…any back to school advice you have??