As school time rolls around and we get ready for school to start there can be some rough times as
we prepare our children to start their new schedules. Summer is vacation time and it's easy to
forget that at the end of that fun time school will be starting back up. It's hard for both parents
and children to get back into the school mode after a few months of vacation but there are things
that we can do to make the transition just a little bit easier on all parties.
One thing that we can do to make that transition a little bit easier is to not totally abandon the
school schedule during the summer months. The tendency is to throw schedules completely out
the window during summer and let children stay up late and sleep in during the mornings since
they don't have to get up for school. This can make it much harder to get your child ready for
school when the time comes to start the new year. We can handle this a couple of different ways.
We can start getting ready for school a month early and put them back on their schedules so that
by the time school actually starts they are prepared for the bed and rise times of the school year.
Don't forget that it takes 30 days to develop new habits so be sure to start early enough for the
new schedule to really take hold. Another option is to keep pretty close to your school schedule
even during the summer and only vary it a little bit. Letting your child stay up an hour or two
later gives a little variation to their schedule compared to the school year but not so much that
they have serious difficulties when school starts back up.
A summer reading list can also help the transition between summer and the school year. By
giving them something school related to do during the summer you keep school in their mind
and keep them learning so that it's not such a big hardship to go back to school. Along with
reading lists are supplemental worksheets. Giving them sheets of work from the previous school
year keeps things fresh in their minds so that they are not forgetting things and having to relearn
them when school starts back up.
Keep a calendar put up with the date school starts back up clearly marked. Let your child mark
off each day so that they can see how close school is to starting again. This gives them time to
get adjusted and keeps school on their mind so that they aren't caught unprepared by the return
of school. While your marking days on the calender mark in the days you plan on doing your
school shopping and keep a list nearby so that as you or your child think of things that will be
needed for the upcoming year this will help make sure that you remember everything when it's
shopping time.
There's no reason that making the transition from summer to school time has to be a hard thing.
We can do things that will make for a smoother transition for both us as parents and our children.
This smoothness help get the school year off to a good start.