For my local school system, students return to school on August 28th - 4 weeks from today. Parents may feel back to school is bittersweet, and kids usually feel strongly about the return to school, too.  With summer break coming to a close, it's natural to think about what the new year will bring for your child(ren) and you may even start making promises about what you will do to help your kiddo succeed. Today's post is dedicated to strategies that you can start TODAY to ease your child's transition back to school, and help them gain a few skills to make this year the best one yet.  Think about it - elite athletes don't jump straight into competition after the off-season: they have training camp and/or preseason to get themselves ready for peak performance.  Here's your guide to a 4 week back to school training camp:

Week 1:

• Begin moving bedtime/wake-up times closer to what is needed for the school year.  Summer usually brings looser guidelines for routines, which is a nice reprieve for everyone. However, changes in sleep habits can leave everyone, especially kids, irritable and tired. Gradually changing bedtimes by a few minutes each day can minimize the side effects (and render fewer arguments from the youngsters).  Starting now will give you time to adjust times slowly and have the routine ready before school begins. Guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics suggest the following:     
  • Children ages 3-5 should sleep 10-13 hours per day (including naps)
  • Children ages 6-12 should sleep 9-12 hours per day
  • Teenagers ages 13-18 should sleep 8 - 10 hours per day

Week 2:

• Have a conversation with your child about what they are feeling about school.  Maybe your kiddo is excited to meet their new teacher, or maybe he or she is petrified about making friends. Listen first, without judgment or giving advice. These can be uncomfortable or unsettling conversations, especially when you don't want your child to suffer feelings of unease or worry. But knowing that their parent/caregiver is willing to listen can be a significant support for kids, and make them more likely to come to you when other things are on their mind.
• Incorporate academics into daily routines/conversations. Perhaps your child learned multiplication facts last year, but hasn't practiced them in a few weeks and is rusty, or maybe they had some summer reading to complete. "Mini-reviews" - asking one math fact while you are in the car, or asking about the main character in the book they read, will help get your children back in the mind frame of school without bringing on loads of resentment or frustration. Focus on practice and brief moments of repetition/review, not on accuracy. 

Week 3:

• Help them with organization; brainstorm ideas that may help kids keep their environment conducive to starting and completing work, and let your child choose which strategies resonate with them best.
  • Find a space where your child will read and/or complete homework during the school year, and talk about what time of day they will complete it (as soon as they get home? after dinner? before bed?). It may be helpful if this space is away from high traffic areas and media exposure to limit distractions.
  • Acquire needed materials: start the year with the tools they'll need at home and at school.

Week 4:

• Ensure that bedtime is early enough that your child is getting the full amount of needed sleep before the first day of school.
• Encourage your child to identify their goals for the year (academic, social, or behavioral), and then discuss what they need to do to achieve the goal(s). Planning backward and helping to plan timelines can help, especially for long-term goals, which are often harder for young brains to achieve. 
• Have fun as a family: the end of summer can be sad, so add in a special back-to-school treat, whether that means going to a matinee, making a favorite meal/dish, holding a family game night, or something else where you spend time together doing something fun/silly, and enjoyable. This tradition can help reinforce the idea that returning to school is not to be feared or dreaded. 
• Minimize your own anxiety! Kids are perceptive to our cues (verbal and nonverbal). If you are worried about them going to school, or you are unsure about the assigned teacher/classmates, your child may pick up on that and begin with a negative perception from day 1.