What child doesn’t loves summer vacation? Free from schoolwork, no waking up early, hanging with friends on week nights not just the weekend. Summer vacation is truly the most exciting part of a child’s year.
Unfortunately, every summer vacation must come to an end. You can avoid an abrupt ending and a house full of cranky children if you start the back-to-school preparation process a few weeks before class starts.
Using the following tips may help to minimize the sting your children feel from going back to school.
- Adjust their sleep schedule. Ease your kids into a school-ready sleeping schedule by making them go to bed a little early each week. Continue cutting back their bedtime until their sleeping patterns match those they’ll maintain throughout the school year.
- Assign “homework”. Most kids really dislike homework. But keeping a child’s mind active is important help stave off the summer slide.
There are many sites on the web where you can find free downloadable worksheets for children of all ages to complete outside of school. Websites like www.teach-nology.com, www.abcteach.com, and www.lessonplanet.com provide a wide variety of options. Be sure to keep it lighthearted.
While keeping their mind active is important, it is still summer vacation, they deserve to relax. Try to assign fun homework assignments and be lenient in deadlines. One assignment per day is more than enough. - Make the change exciting. To many children, August is just the beginning of another boring school year. However, as a parent, how can you not marvel at the speed at which our babies are growing and maturing! Help them see what you see by reminding them of all of the opportunities that will soon be available to them in the new school year.
Be firm about your decisions when preparing your kids for the change of going back to school. Most children are resistant when you implement any change, but these changes are some times harder. But after about a week, they’ll begin to accept the changes and new routine.
Remember to take your children’s feelings and desires into account when designing your routine for getting ready to return to school. Kids have unique needs, and it’s important to let them know that their opinions are valuable. Be willing to give in a little and you’ll often receive a great deal of cooperation in return.
By implementing these changes, you’ll prepare your children well for going back to school. When school begins, it will be less of a shock to your children and the transition to a new daily routine will be an easier one for all.
