Cultus
Summertime is almost over for some students. Parents and graduates know how hard it is to pull ourselves out of bed to go back to our usual routine – home, school, home, school. For sure, kids will miss vacation, but they still need to go back to school. So as guardians, what can we do to ease the process of transition of being at a break to being a school kid again?
Give house chores and tasks
Vacation is the period for the kids to relax and have more time spend with their families. However, it is not an excuse for them to not have responsibilities. Giving kids duties and tasks to fulfil instil in them the sense of responsibility. Young as they may be, they should have control over themselves. Give them the leeway to do their chores at their own style and pace, without forsaking deadlines and quality.
Engage them in other activities
As much as you want to prep your kids for all the things they need for school, you have to give them the time to enjoy their break. Engage them in different extracurricular activities. Involve them in volunteer works, recreational activities like dancing, singing, and other physical activities or sports. It is a good way for them to release their energy as well as it is an avenue for them to be creative and get to mingle with other people.
Train your body clock
In reality, it is not only the kids that need to be trained with their body clock – it is also the guardians and parents. Well, it would be an advantage if your kids’ classes start in the afternoon, so you do not have to go up early in the morning. However, you still need to adjust your body to how it functions before the class starts. Train your kid and yourself that on certain hours you will be more productive and whatnot.
Restore routines before the end of the vacation
Part of training your body clock is restoring one’s routines. It may be quite hard to adjust from vacation mode to school mode. But we will all get there. Eventually, it will take time. You don’t have to force yourself and your kids to quickly adjust. Give a period to familiarize the kids back again with their usual school routine.
Refresh previous school lessons
If your kid has already entered school, it would be best to refresh previous school lessons. Well not the typical tutorial or academic setting, but just gently. Maybe while watching the news and you see something that your child may elaborate using what he or she has learned in school, do so. Nonetheless, you can spend at least 30 minutes a day to read, write and review. Not necessarily something that they have studied before but just to condition your child’s brain for the next few months formal academic set up.
Introduce new ideas creatively
On the other hand, if your child hasn’t been to school yet, you may want to start introducing new ideas or lessons but in a creative manner. Instead of the mainstream parent feeding all the knowledge to the kid, you may go out to the park, backyard or maybe just inside your house and tell to your child some exciting facts about the animals, pets, things at home, etc. Think of other creative ways on how you can introduce new lessons.
Minimize screen time
In today’s age, even our kids are very much preoccupied with gadgets. No matter how we argue that back to our days, we spend our afternoons playing outside with our friends, they won’t appreciate it that much. The least that we can do is to minimize the screen time of our kids as we know that exposing them for a long time with gadgets have an adverse effect. Do it gradually so they won’t be reluctant to the change you are trying to implement.
Prepare school supplies
Educational supplies – something that kids look forward to! Hype them up by letting them come to you when you are buying these things or let them help you in preparing them. In this way, they get to see and feel the vibes of going back to school. Take this opportunity to condition their minds that they will be using these educational supplies again and hope that they will make good memories in school.
Familiarize yourselves with the school
If you are entering a new school, it would be beneficial for both parties to familiarize yourselves with your new environment. Let your child know where he or she is going to study soon. Going to school to study and manage yourself in a new environment might be too much for some kids so make sure that you do this in a subtle and friendly manner.
Be with your kid throughout the process
Last but not the least, be with your kid throughout the process. Some children throw tantrums in the first few days of the school for different reasons and few of which is they are not well prepared, they miss home, and they want to be with their parents. Being with your kids should be done in moderation. That is why giving them freedom at an early age is a must, so they also know how to be independent. Because if overdone, they will be too dependent on your presence and guidance.
There you have it! Do you think there are other ways in which we can help our kids be ready for back to school? Let us know and together discuss this essential topic.
About Author :
Janice Jaramillo is a twenty-something who loves to write various topics especially education and education supplies related. She also likes to travel around the world to meet new people and gain new experiences.