It’s 9:40pm as I write this. I can hear our youngest child still futzing around, with periodical declarations of “I’m not even TIRED,” as my wife attempts to efficiently usher him through the shower/jammies/reading routine. (We alternate nights.) Earlier today, our oldest crawled out of bed barely in time for lunch.
We’ve all been there, right? There’s only a week left of summer. Your kids have been up late every night with the summer sun. They usually trade bathing suits for pajamas sometime around mid-morning. The summer math packet, begun so earnestly in June, has been MIA for weeks. (The dog probably ate it, right?) You are out of time and out of routine and dreading the inevitable back-to-school morning battles.
Here are six tips for easing your family out of summer mode and into school mode, painlessly. The best part? You only need a week.
Readjust Sleep Schedules
This is the number one thing to focus on as school day schedules approach. Begin to dial back bedtimes day-by-day, and start waking late sleepers closer to the time when they will need to get up for school. Fifteen minutes per day on both ends should do it.
Prepare Morning Routines
Instead of lounging in pajamas until well after breakfast, get them used to dressing before they eat. Parents can also help their children develop responsibility by asking them to make and post a checklist of items to bring to school each day near where their items (backpack, shoes, coat, etc.) are staged. Have a dry run some morning this week or weekend and have a reward for getting out the door at the scheduled time: a fun morning hike or, say, doughnuts! (I vote for a hike and doughnuts.)
Create A Family Calendar
The busyness of summer camps and play-dates will soon be replaced by the busyness of school and all that comes with it. Create a centralized calendar for all family events, school events, long-term homework assignments, and extracurricular schedules. This always helps us to at least feel like we are somewhat in control.
Nurture Independence
A major change for many children is the number of things they might need to self-manage while in school versus the summer months. You can help them get ready for this by dialoging before day one about the responsibilities that will likely be expected of them. In addition to having them create the checklist mentioned above, they could also do things like start selecting the following day’s clothes the night before.
Back to Work
Hopefully your child has continued to read regularly throughout the summer months. (Nope, we’ll never miss an opportunity to promote daily reading for pleasure.) If not, designate 20-30 minutes per day this week for read-alouds and/or independent reading to get back into the swing of reading. If you haven’t kept up with frequent math fun, try replacing your nightly Uno game with Equate or another math fluency game. Swap some Minecraft time for extra IXL Math sessions. Anything will help them transition back into their “school brain.” Another helpful thing parents can do in the final week of summer is to help their children set up designated spaces for homework. Let the kids help decorate and choose needed supplies. This will be key for helping support their nightly and long-term projects at home.
Create Partnerships
Attending your child’s before-school parent/teacher conference is the best way to build essential partnerships with teachers, staff, and administration. Use the conference time to share your child’s (and your) hopes, dreams, and possible anxieties about the upcoming year. Beginning the year with an open path of communication between home and school will help everyone with the transition.
If the above list seems too overwhelming, remember that just being more mindful of the upcoming changes will help you prepare. And if you have any of your own tips to share, please send them my way. We’ll take all the help we can get.
~J.J. Morrow, Head of Mackintosh Academy-Bouder