Three Weeks Until School: How to Gently Get Your Child Back into School Mode!

     Self-disclosure....I have 5 school-age kids now and the transition back to school has highs and lows. The highs are pretty much limited to the excitement of the first day and getting all dressed up and running on adrenaline. The lows....are pretty much everything else. Earlier to bed (I can't sleep..it's light out!), earlier getting up (what time is it? Where is the sun?), schedule changes all over, homework, sitting in a desk for 7 hours a day, earlier lunch and no mid-afternoon snack (so we won't eat lunch at 1 p.m. Dad?), evening practices, not enough time to do all the fun stuff we want to do, etc., etc., etc.  Bottom-line, the two weeks it takes to adjust to this schedule is not fun for the kids or the parents. And I haven't even talked about the ramping up the skills needed to start at the next grade level. But, there are some simple things you can do to get your child ready for this change without having them freak out that you are ruining their summer (and if they do....remind them they got the first 10 weeks to do nothing, you are only using about an hour a day of their final 2-3 weeks!)

   *Start slowly changing their sleeping hours. Depending on the age of your child, the times may be different, but my guess is they are going to bed later and waking up later than normal. This doesn't happen for everyone, but it does for most. For my oldest two (6th/9th grade), they are now going to bed around 10 and waking up around 8 or 9. Hmm....that won't work. I need them in bed at 9 and up at 6:30. So, in August, we try to get there by August 23rd a little at a time. Begin with the wake-up process. I'm now getting them up at 8 a.m. at the latest. Sometimes I go to "work" at 7:30 or 8, so I get them up even earlier to help with watching the little kids. Do I have to go to work? No. But, by doing so, they have to get up and get going with their day. Win-win! By August 20th or so, we hope to have everyone up and ready for the day by 7:15 or 7:30. Next, work on the bedtime. Our goal is to get kids in bed and reading by the time we would normally want them asleep on a school night in a few weeks. They don't have to be asleep, but in bed with devices off and reading with start training their brain that this is time for bed. By the first week of school, their brain will see this as normal. With all the anxiety and excitement of the first day and week of school, it will be tough to sleep anyway.

  *Reading/Language Arts: If your child doesn't read daily, start this habit. It is the one habit that will not only help them in every subject in school, but study after study shows it leads to more success in life, a healthier life, and a longer life. Let your child pick the book or reading material, but don't settle for "I don't want to read", "I'm too old to read", or "No, I'm not reading." Here's a key point though....kids read more and fight you less if they see parents reading as well. So, find yourself a good book and take time each day to read. We pick a set time each day and call it "Reading time". Whole house shuts down and kids and parents read for 30 minutes. For my wife and I, it is one of our favorite times....it is QUIET and PEACEFUL! And I think it helps our stress level as well.

*Math: Elementary/Middle School age....take 5-10 minutes and do some basic math drills. If you have a device the kids like to play, put some math games on there and tell your child they have to do 10 minutes of math games if they want to play the device each day in August. There are a lot of fun math games out there. Find fun math videos on Youtube or online. Do practice problems. Take your child shopping and let them help you shop and explain how you are paying for it all. Financial literacy! Have your child pick up 10 toys and put them away. 20 toys! (Our house....20 toys each!). Anything to get your child using numbers and thinking numbers. Ten-fifteen minutes a day may not sound like much, but again, it gets the brain in number-mode which helps the transition back into math go much smoother.

  *All the other stuff....science, social studies, foreign language, computers, etc. Well, your child has already committed to losing about an hour of daylight by changing sleeping habits and now another 30-60 minutes doing reading and math, so piece in the other parts where you can. Go to the State Fair and really take in all the exhibits and things to see. Visit the State Capitol Building. Go hiking or fishing. Watch some cool science or travel shows on TV. Download Duolingo to your device/child's device and brush up on their Spanish if they are 6th-12th grade (Duolingo is AWESOME!). But make learning fun. Teach your child that life-long learning is and can be fun.

*Devices. Oh....continue to use them but set limits. So much of the new research is really scary about smart phones/technology and use by teens (and all people). And please....please.....keep the technology out of the bedrooms. Studies are unanimous about that idea. Smart phones, laptops, TVs in the bedroom of a child is NOT GOOD. Did you know the blue screen of phones actually keeps us awake? Companies know that if they used a yellow/dim screen at night, it would trick our brain into producing sleep-inducing hormones and cause us to fall asleep. So they purposely chose a color that does the opposite so we use their product more!! So....keep the tech out of the bedrooms and build good sleeping habits with your children.

   This may all sound like a lot, but really it is slight adjustments day by day to your child's sleep schedule and about 30-45 minutes a day of reading and some fun math stuff. You might be surprised at how it works and you may find your child has more immediate success to start the school year with their homework/grades.

Two Week Warning! School is Just TWO Weeks Away! Here's What to Do Now.

      I had hoped to put this out right at 8:00 a.m. this morning, but even I am still a little slow due to summer. But I need to pick it up because in 2 weeks, over 2000 students will be in our buildings and we need to be on our "A" game. And so do students. With teachers doing curriculum work, getting their rooms ready, and checking in and out periodically over the last two weeks and officially reporting next week, it reminded me that this is a great time to start preparing my own kids to start getting into school mode. This does not mean I am putting them through school work from 8 to 3 everyday (we are even spending all day tomorrow at Adventureland!), but it does means some changes are happening around our house so that our kids are physically and mentally ready for school on the morning of August 26th. Here are some quick and easy things to consider doing to make the transition back to school easier and more successful. 



       Bedtimes! Number 1 complaint I hear from parents about the first day of school is trying to get their kids out of bed. Trust me, I would be a grumpy counselor if I woke up at my 6 a.m. alarm for the first time in 3 months on the first day of school. That is why I have been setting my alarm for 6 a.m. since the beginning of August. I don't always make it out of bed at that time and the snooze button does get hit a few times, but I am trying and my body is slowly getting used to these efforts. But even more important than the wake up time is the time you go to bed. If your kids have been on "summer time" and going to bed around 9 or 10 when they usually go to bed around 8, now is the time to transition back. I had heard once that it takes about 2 weeks for a teenager to fully recover from one night of unusual sleep (think staying up to 3 a.m. at a sleepover). Hmm....2 weeks? That makes it even more important to start getting into your school bed and wake up time routine now. The mind will be fresh and ready on that first day of school. If this is a huge change, have a goal to get your kids in bed at the school bed time and let them read or draw until their mind is more relaxed and falling asleep will be easier. Speaking of.....



       Now is the time to read!! I'm not talking just to the students who have required reading, but to all students. Doesn't matter the age, reading for pleasure will help in all areas. And it will help their mind wind down after a long and fun summer day. The older the student, the more reading they are going to be doing in each subject area. So getting your child in the habit of daily reading for 20 minutes or more will help them prepare for the reading that the school day and homework will bring. Even better? Have your child read to you and you read to them. Take turns. You can listen and help where they might make mistakes and they can listen to you to hear how you work through words and how you start, pause, and stop at certain points and inflection and emotion you have in your voice. Who knows.....maybe they will fall asleep when you are reading!! (Not a bad thing....this is a good thing!) 




      How about some math? Science? Social Studies? Yes, these are all good too. The trick is to do some each day without your child noticing they are doing "school work". Go to garage sales and give them some money to budget and spend. Maybe give them only coins so they have to do a little more math. Start looking at possible vacation ideas for next year and have them come up with some ideas as long as they plan how to get there and what you would do. Go for a walk on a bike trail or in the woods and enjoy nature. Go fishing! Go grocery shopping and have your child estimate how much you are spending on everything in your cart. Have your child pick all the back to school items and add up how much it costs. Watch the news together and discuss world events and politics. Add National Geographic or Ranger Rick or Time for Kids to their "for fun" reading at night. All of these ideas get a little more science, math, or social studies into their daily life. The key is to let them explore and learn and talk with them as they do these things. Get to know what they are thinking and how they are solving problems. The more you know about how your child learns, the better you will be able to help them when they get stuck. By the way, as a bonus, as a former science teacher, the Internet has tons of fun science experiments that use basic kitchen materials. My kids love these types of things. And I didn't even mention crafts and creative art things you can do. The options for fun (and educational) ideas are virtually endless! 


    

     These three ideas are the ideas that jump out as me as the most important things you can do to get a jump start on school. Of course you have to mix in some back to school shopping, a trip to the State Fair, and one last time at the pool, I-Cubs game, or Adventureland as well I am sure. But school will start in two weeks and the more prepared your child's mind and body is for that transition, the better start he/she will have. And good starts lead to good years. And a good year (actually a great year) is what we are all hoping for this year. See you in 2 weeks!