5 Tips to Get Kids Ready for Going Back to School
With summer break quickly coming to an end, back to school sessions will soon take over. During this transition from an extended summer break to starting up a new academic quarter/semester, we realize this can be challenging. That’s why BHW is here to help you and your little one have a smooth transition back to school. So sharpen those pencils and take out that notepad, class is back in session!
- Say “Hello” (even before class starts): Help your child introduce themselves to their teacher and classmates before their first day. By introducing your child to their future peers, you can relieve their first day jitters in having to make first impressions. From a quick hello email to a play date, either one can help ease your child’s nervousness about their first day.
- Start creating a consistent schedule: We all know that waking up and rolling out of bed early is probably one of the most challenging parts to going back to school, especially if they have been sleeping in way past the early morning time. So it’s important to set your loved one back on their routine school schedule preferably a few weeks before school starts. For example, waking up at 8am, breakfast at 8:30am, lunch at noon, and sleep at 8pm. This will make school mornings less painful to wake up for and will allow your child to get reacquainted with their school routine.
- Spend time at school: Visit the campus and help your little one get adjusted by familiarizing them with their school settings. This will allow them to know where they are going and will help them avoid their first day frustrations of being lost. No more “where am I supposed to be?” Your child will walk down those school halls like a champ!
- Create visual support: Make the first day a little less scary for your child by providing them a visual book of what is going to occur. This will allow them to recognize their teacher and surroundings and make them more comfortable with the school environment. Change is hard for anyone, let alone a child with autism, so providing a little insight might just ease your child’s mind.
- Communication is key!: Part of building a good relationship between the school and home is two-way communication! By maintaining constant communication with your child’s school team (e.g. teacher, principal, school counselor, etc.), you will be able to see if there is anything that may be affecting your child’s educational success. Creating a communication journal or agenda can be a helpful tool to ensure successful communication. This journal will allow for the parent to know if there are any concerns at school and will also allow the teacher to know if there is anything in the home that may negatively affect the child’s schoolwork. For example, perhaps your child did not get a good night’s sleep the night before. This could be logged in the communication journal and sent with the child to school. This allows the teacher to be aware of the child’s lack of sleep and would better explain if they are behaving differently throughout the day. So open dialogue and frequent communication between you, the parent/guardian, and the school will help improve your child’s academic experience and success!
BHW wishes all of your children and loved ones an excellent start to the new school year!