Prepping For A New School Year

As a teacher myself, I have a love/hate relationship with the idea of going back to school. I could not wait for summer break, but as the summer weeks tick by, I am anxiously waiting to get my family back into our normal routine. I found out years ago that I am not a great stay at home mom (that’s a whole different post!), and I am most happy when I am teaching.

However, my three school age boys struggle with the idea of leaving behind days filled with xbox, pool dates, picnics, and movies!

My middle child informed me at the beginning of summer that he would not be returning to school as a 1st grader. He felt that he was already smart enough and that Kindergarten was all he needed.

The conversation turned into a complete meltdown when I told him, “too bad.”  After this episode, I decided that I was NOT going to bring school up again until the middle/end of July; I wanted the boys to enjoy their summer and focus on having fun.

About a week ago or so ago I decided that I needed to go up to the school that I work at and get some things done (fellow teachers, you know what I am talking about),and decided to bring my boys. They always love to go up to the high school, so I knew this would be a great segway into talking about going back to school. They asked a lot of questions about what I was doing and I showed them all the things I was doing to prep my students for a new year. I assured them that their own new teachers would be doing the same.

I realized that this summer I would really need to do some things to prep my boys for the new school year because I knew they were not looking forward to going back. Here are some of the things that I did in hopes of getting them excited:

IDEAS FOR GETTING KIDS EXCITED FOR SCHOOL

  1. Slowly start talking to them about what they want to learn during the new school year.- My oldest is going into 4th grade, so I asked him what he wanted to learn more about. He loves science, so he was quick to bring up the Science Fair (he won 2nd place last year) and how he couldn’t wait to do that again. I found that by discussing some fun things that they could expect will get them excited about their new grade.
  2. Having older siblings tell the younger ones what to expect.- My middle child has already prepped his little brother in what to expect in Kindergarten. He let him know that there would be no naps, but he would have centers! It was very endearing to see him give his little brother “advice”. I could tell that it made him feel like a good big brother!
  3. Take them school supply shopping.- I have always loved to shop for school supplies, as a kid, and a parent/teacher. I took mine with me and let them pick out their supplies. It gives them a sense of ownership in the decision making. They are super excited about their own pencil boxes and lunch bags!
  4. Take them to register- I took all three of mine to registration. They saw some of their teachers and friends from last year. They were all very excited to see familiar faces and the buzz of registration was just a great feeling for them. My boys attend school in a small district, so it is very community oriented, so it feels like family when we are all together.
  5. Routine- My kids strive for routine, especially my middle son. School starts for them in two and a half weeks. In the next week or so I will be implementing their school year bedtime. I do this for them and myself. They will also be waking up early! I want their internal clocks to get back on track for school; this will help them get use to the idea of going to bed early and waking up again. It won’t be fun, but it will be worth it.

I’m sure there are a few more ways to help kids prep for going back to school, but I have found these particular ones have helped mine thus far. Starting a new school year can be a scary task for some kids, and parents!

Here’s to a great new school year!!

 

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