Back to school is just around the corner and for most families this means some significant changes are about to take place.
Both you and your children are probably having mixed feelings about this return to the rigors and joys that come with spending the bulk of your day at school.
As with most things, the transition will be easier if you go into it with a plan.
Here are five things you can do to make back to school the best experience possible for your kids (and you!).
1. Get Into the Routine
Without a bell to answer to every morning, and six hours of your day already being planned for you, the daily routine around your house has certainly changed, and perhaps even evolved into no routine at all.
There’s nothing wrong with that, but you will want to ease back into it rather than trying to go cold turkey on the first day of school.
This is not to say you have to start the school routine, but do get your children used to some of the habits they’ll need to have during the school year.
If bedtime has drastically changed, get it back on track. People often advise making small adjustments by moving bedtime up 15 minutes each day.
Do what works for your kids, just don’t make a big deal about it. You don’t want them dreading the return to school and developing negative associations with school.
If your kids get all their clothes and belongings ready for school the night before, get back in this habit.
Start being consistent about when they shower, what time you eat dinner, how much screen time they have, and anything else that is different during the school year than it is over the summer.
2. Establish Expectations
Don’t just go around making changes in your family’s life without talking to your children and getting their input.
The type and level of input they need to provide will of course depend on their age.
Talk to them about how many days are left until school starts again and what you’re going to expect from them as they transition into a new school year, as well as what they need to expect from you.
If you just start telling them to go to bed while it’s still light out, turning their screens off, and limiting their junk food intake one day without explanation, you’re going to experience some immediate resistance.
This school thing is suddenly no fun at all.
Discuss the changes that need to be made and how they’ll benefit your child and help her be happier and more successful at school.
Try to make some of the changes positive.
If you’ve gotten out of the habit of reading every night before you go to bed, pick this up again.
Instead of having a free-for-all junk food fest throughout the day, schedule a treat your child will enjoy just before bedtime or whenever works for you.
If there are things about school that didn’t go so well last year, try changing something this year in hopes of improving the experience for your child.
For example, if she’s always running out the door at the last minute, adjust wake up time, take more time preparing the night before, or preplan her breakfast menu so she’s not scrambling for something to eat.
Frame expectations in a positive way.
Don’t say, “We’ve got to do better this year.” Instead, go with, “I don’t like how X made you feel last year, let’s try Y instead so this will be easier for you.”
3. Resolve Anxieties
Go deeper than just asking your child if he’s ready to go back to school.
His surface answer may not portray the anxieties he’s feeling about all the things school brings surrounding friendships, academics, and navigating the social landscape.
If there were obvious issues, start there and ask how he’s feeling about facing those issues this year and what the two of you can do together to ease the stress.
You have the best chance of uncovering issues you aren't aware of if you have the conversations about potential anxieties in an informal, relaxed environment.
You may want to bring things up casually by asking “innocent” questions while you’re in an environment your child enjoys.
Ask about friends, subjects they’re looking forward to (or not), extra school activities they may be interested in, thoughts about teachers, and just generally whether they feel uneasy or especially excited about anything.
Help your child make a plan for resolving anything that crops up here as a concern. The plan may be as simple as, “We’ll see how it goes, you let me know, and I’ll check in with you after the first week of school.”
If your child is starting a new school, make sure the back to school activities are enough to make him feel comfortable in the new school.
Arrange to spend extra time going through the building or meeting teachers if needed.
4. Set Goals
Goal setting for school can be as formal or informal as you want to make it.
At the very least, jot your child’s goals down on a piece of paper so you won’t forget them.
Start the goal setting conversation with asking open-ended questions such as, “What would need to happen to make this year really fun for you?” Or, “What’s a successful year going to look like for you?”
Setting goals is a good way to get your child excited about school, so keep the goals positive and doable.
Don’t start with, “You got a 1 in science last year and you need to bring that up to a 3 this year.”
Goals should really have nothing to do with grades unless that’s a goal your child self-selects.
If your school has an honor roll and she wants to be on it, by all means write it down.
Just be sure to let your child lead the charge here so you’re getting down her goals, not yours.
You can suggest things that you think would improve her school experience, like getting involved in a new activity, or learning how not to hate her least favorite subject.
But if her goals are to have one fun outing with friends every weekend, and get two new outfits to wear to school each month, help her figure out what she needs to do to meet this goal, which will obviously require your approval and credit card.
You may be able to weave some of your goals into hers, such as asking her to read 20 pages a night to balance out spending more time with friends or buying more of the extras she considers essential to her school experience.
5. Keep Having Fun
Don’t go into the new school year with an attitude of, “Okay, the party’s over, it’s back to school.”
Spend even more time with your kids than you have, if possible, doing fun things before school starts.
Make plans for how you’re going to continue having fun and enjoying some of the benefits of summer even after school’s started again.
If your children have concerns about things they’ll have to give up once school starts, see if you can move those things in a modified way into a different part of their day, or make sure they still get to enjoy them over the weekend.
Plan a special outing for Labor Day weekend or another weekend in September so your child will have something to look forward to.
Talk about things you want to do or continue doing while it’s still warm out and put those into your schedule.
Hopefully you’re using a family calendar as we’ve suggested before. Take a look at the first four to six weeks after school starts and make sure you have enough fun activities scheduled to make your child feel like the good side of life doesn’t end when school begins.
And of course, this would be a great time to get your Kids Party Characters party on the calendar.
Whether it’s an upcoming birthday, back to school celebration, or just a party because parties are fun, a KidsPartyCharacters.com party is guaranteed to keep the fun in your child’s life.
Check out our over 200 characters and party packages including balloon artists, cotton candy, and face painting at KidsPartyCharacters.com and let us know if you need help planning the perfect party for your child.
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