Practical tips for a smooth back-to-school
21 August, 2018
First, make a list of the habits you'd like your child to pick up again for back-to-school. Remember, your expectations must be clear and phrased positively. Here's my list, and maybe it will inspire you!
Imagine for a second that, tomorrow, you start a new job. That means a new boss, new colleagues, new expectations, several new duties and a new environment. Now what if I told you that starting tomorrow, you also had to get back to working out three times a week? To top it all off, you'd also have to start a diet and plan your meals so that your eating is healthy and varied at all times! Let's agree that would be quite a challenge! Tackling everything at once would be a little stressful and hard to pull off. Wouldn't you feel stressed and a bit overwhelmed? Wouldn't it be wiser to go one goal at a time?
Yet that's often what we ask of our kids when they start school! Suddenly, they have to go to bed and get up early, there's less room for play, everyone has to rush every morning, dinner has to be quick, then homework, then a bath, and just like that the day is over! They also have to absorb a whole lot of new things at school: the new teacher and their expectations, their way of doing things that everyone has to adapt to, and more. In short, that's a lot for our little ones in the very first week! Instead, I suggest you ease in gradually and start a few weeks before back-to-school to pick up the habits needed during the school year.
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Get dressed as soon as we get up.
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Eat breakfast in 30 minutes.
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Set the alarm clock for 6:30 a.m.
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Go to bed at 8 p.m.
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Read or work in an activity book for 30 minutes each evening (the goal being to gently prepare them for homework and study time).
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Cut screen time (TV, tablet, computer, etc.) down to 30 minutes a day (or less depending on your child's age).
Each week, ask your kids to take on one or two new habits. At our house, we write the new habits on our monthly planner, but we could just as easily add them to the “Kids' little missions” section of the Les Belles Combines weekly family planner. By doing it this way, you make sure to enjoy a gentle transition between fun-filled, carefree summer holidays and the rigour of school life.
To motivate kids to get back into their good habits, include yourself in the challenge! It's a family challenge, after all! So I invite you to switch from “you” to “we.” Instead of saying “you have to get dressed as soon as you get up,” say “we have to get dressed as soon as we get up.” Also, plan a family reward for when everyone in the family has taken up all their good habits again: dinner at a restaurant, a movie night, a new board game the whole family will play, and so on.
Finally, a few days before school starts, why not do a dress rehearsal to reassure the kids (and to reassure yourself)! Act as if it were the real first day and everyone had to leave for school; the kids will surely find the idea fun, and they'll feel more ready for the big day.
Psst! For an even more organized back-to-school, download these printables and add them to the Education and School Management department of your family organization binder:
- Homework independence station (Would you like to have this printable at your fingertips, available anytime on your phone? Get it for free on our Octave app!)
- Important school information
- Note to the teacher
Happy back-to-school!
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Put these tips into practice
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