Navigating a successful school year

By Teanna Sunberg

As the last strands of summer dissolve on the horizon, the focus turns away from those long, lazy days by the pool and we chart a course into blustery mornings, routines, and homework.

For many, the first day of school brings a moment of sadness. Others greet the new school year as an opportunity for new beginnings. Most students find their stomachs aflutter with nerves during the first days and even weeks of school.

To put things into perspective for us adults, one article on transitioning into a new school year compared the stresses of a new classroom, teacher, peer group and academic expectations to that of starting over at a new job every year. It is an intimidating thought, is it not? According to the experts, there are positive ways that parents can significantly help their children settle into a successful and pleasant year. Experts even say that a good start to a school year can affect social and academic performance. Some advice from the experts can help to navigate the sometimes choppy waters of education.

Get to know the school
l take time to read the school’s handbook. Do not be afraid to ask questions. Let your children know that you have read it and that you expect them to play by the rules and that you expect good behaviour from them. Keep the handbook in an available place.

Make a concentrated effort to know your child’s teacher and give them the opportunity to know you as well. The more information a teacher has about your family and any stresses that might be happening within the family, the better equipped the teacher to understand and recognise signs from your child. You might even try inviting the teacher over for supper.

Know what is happening in your child’s classroom. Ask the teacher if you can come in and observe for a few minutes. Make an effort to stay out of the way and sit quietly. Never interrupt a lesson. Never show up and expect to observe a class in action without setting a definite date and time. Ask for permission to observe, do not demand it.

Be Involved
If you can arrange your schedule, offer to volunteer at the school. This can be a weekly commitment or even just once a semester. Talk to your child’s teacher and offer to do whatever would be most helpful to him/her. You may be an accountant but if cutting out letters for the bulletin board is the most pressing need, pick up a pair of scissors.

Check your child’s textbooks regularly to make sure they are progressing.

Communicate
Take a list of questions with you to the parent-teacher conference. Ask about the materials and methods the teacher is using with your child.

Ask the teacher for advice on how you can help your child’s process of learning.

Ask the teacher his/her preferred mode of communication. Some teachers like a phone call while others would prefer a note. Other options might be by email or face to face.

Inform the teacher of changes at home (i.e. one parent’s prolonged absence).

Invest in your child
Listen actively. This means, put down your book, turn off the computer, establish eye contact and have a conversation with your child. Ask questions. Emphasise the positive aspects of school.

If at all possible, arrange your schedule so that you are home when they get home. It may seem a little idealistic, but a plate of cookies and a glass of milk can be a dream come true after a long day at school.

Make the dinner hour a family affair. Sit down together at the table, pass the corn, and talk about your day. Making this hour a priority goes a long way toward building family unity.

Encourage healthy habits
Let your kids see you reading, conversing with peers, dreaming and problem solving.

Turn off the television and encourage kids to pick up a book instead. Experts advise removing the television from a child’s bedroom. They also say to avoid turning it on in the morning before school.

Decide to have a positive attitude about the school. Kids pick up on your feelings.

Build up a library in your home.

Leave time for kids to have fun. After school activities are good but more is not always better. A good rule of thumb is one to two activities a week.

Get organised
Lay out clothes before bedtime - make sure your child is involved in choosing what to wear.

Prepare the backpack the night before. One innovative author suggested laying the backpack on top of the shoes.

Make homework a priority. Establish a routine, including where to do homework and when to do it. Some families prefer getting it done right after school. Others use the after-dinner block. Keep necessary tools like pencils and scissors in a handy place. If the child does not have homework, encourage him/her to read. Make sure homework is done before bedtime. Never do homework for your child but stay available to help.

Keep those notes from school from getting lost by establishing a place for them and putting them there immediately after school. Kids should be responsible for emptying their backpacks and placing notes from school in the appropriate spot.

Praise and prepare
Make every effort to avoid arguments or yelling in the morning.

Try a love note in their lunch box or backpack.

Establish a routine for leaving the house. In other words, do the same things in the same order each morning. Talk to your child and explain how the morning will look before you try setting the routine on the first day.

Tell your child that he is courageous for going to school. Use words that show her that she is competent, capable, and talented.

Arrange for play dates with other kids. In the first weeks of school, these extra social outings can really go a long way toward making your child feel comfortable with his/her classmates.

Sleep
Experts seem to agree with the following general formula: Preschoolers need 11 hours of sleep. Kindergarteners and 1st graders generally need eight to 12 hours. Early grade-school students require about eight to 10 hours of rest.

Resource yourself
There are a lot of good resources out there, but one that seemed to stand out, was a series called, “Core Knowledge Series”. These are resource books that help teachers and parents know what a student should be learning at each grade level from Kindergarten to grade six.

Ready or not the school year has arrived and with it comes new challenges and exciting ports of learning and growing. School should be and can be a safe and nurturing environment to explore new horizons. As with most things, however, the first half of the journey begins before we ever walk through the doors of academia. The point of departure, so to speak, begins at home. Bon Voyage.

The information for this article was compiled from a variety of sources on the internet. To do your own research or for more in-depth information, try putting the following key words into a search engine: new school year / school year, transitions / school advice, psychology.