Parents: You have a little time left to enjoy summer with your children as the new school year is rapidly approaching. Don’t let up on activities that you all enjoy. And try to add some new ones to make the end of their vacation even more enjoyable. Have you been on hikes that are challenging? Have you visited any historical spots? Have you spent time with relatives? Have you gone to fairs, festivals, or farmer’s markets, watched a sunset, or camped in the back yard? Doing something new will make this month more interesting.
Besides enjoying the remaining days of summer, now is the time to make sure you and your children are ready for the start of the school year. Here is our checklist that should help you in developing your own list of things your family needs to do for a smooth start to the new school year.
For Parents
Check if the schools your children will be attending have any pre-school events for you or them. Many schools now are having fun socials like picnics, play times at school, and ice cream parties. If so, it is really important to attend. And if your children are attending a new school level, look for any dates for orientation sessions to the school, or try to have your children visit the new school.
Be sure you know what transportation to and from school is provided and what you may need to arrange. These plans should be firm, and your children need to know them – including such things as the route to walk to school.
You need to be sure that your children are healthy, so schedule doctor and dentist appointments, and check that required immunizations are all up to date.
As soon as you get a list of the supplies your children will need for school, inventory what you have, and look where you can purchase new items cheapest. Some schools will sell the supplies your children need. Do not forget any supplies they will need to use at home.
Review any guides schools shared with you regarding their policies on attendance, phones, and behavior, as well as other school rules. Be sure to discuss these guidelines with your children.
Of course, there are other purchases you may need to make like lunch boxes and backpacks. As far as clothing goes, it is not wise to go overboard in purchasing a new wardrobe for your children. Instead, it can be wise to just purchase a few items to get them started. And if your children’s schools require uniforms, make sure you know what they are for each grade level as they can vary between levels.
Depending upon your children’s level of maturity, you should outline exactly what tasks you expect them to accomplish before school. You can make a chart for this. By high school, children should be accomplishing everything necessary to get them out the door and to school on time. As soon as possible, younger children need to be using alarm clocks to wake up on time and take more responsibility for getting ready for school, from brushing their teeth to making their beds.
Just as your children need to have certain responsibilities in the morning, the same applies to after school when they return home.
And one very important decision that needs to be made is what the guidelines for media use will be for your children during the school year. Obviously, complete freedom to use media anytime can interfere greatly with children getting their homework done. Try to wean your children a bit away from their media by actually having a few media-free days for everyone in your home.
For Children
As school time approaches, make sure you've done any work that has been assigned over the summer. Don’t put it off any longer. It will make you feel more confident academically at the start of the school year.
Now is the time to touch base with your school friends. At least, visit with them online. However, it will be more enjoyable if you can do some things together. If you are younger, play dates are appropriate. If you are older, you may consider doing something together like attending a movie or visiting a water park.
Make plans to go to the first day of school with a friend.
Ask your parents to schedule a hair appointment, if you feel it's necessary.
Parents should send questions and comments to dearteacher@dearteacher.com and visit the dearteacher.com website to learn more about helping their children succeed in school. ©Compass Syndicate Corporation, 2024