The school bells are ringing!
As the year-end approaches, many children may start to feel stress and anxiety towards returning to school. Some may feel nervous about new changes e.g. new teacher, new school, new classmates, etc. Others may experience post-holiday blues (who doesn't love playing and vacations?).
Below are some tips for Parents to help your kids prepare for the new year and new term:
1) Let your kids know what to expect
Suggestion: Read storybooks with content about going back to school. Prep-talk to mentally prepare them for start of school (e.g. expected changes to teacher, school, classmate, homework load, class/exam time-table, Extra-Curricular Activities, etc). Mention their favorite teacher, BFF, etc, to give them reasons to look forward to school reopening.
2) Countdown with a calendar
Suggestion: Cross out each day as it passes or paste sticker to indicate start of school. Make it fun and anticipating.
3) Be well-prepared
Suggestion: Standby the necessities (e.g. name-labels, school supplies, uniforms, etc). This will minimize the possibility of your child feeling lost and left out, especially during the first week at school.
4) Get your child involved
Suggestion: Pack school bag, snacks, paste name-labels, etc, together. This helps to create anticipation and forms a positive experience and association with school reopening.
5) Meet and communicate with the teacher(s)
Suggestion: Update class teacher(s) on new food allergies (if any), sensitive skin needs, changes to feeding plan (e.g. weaning off milk), potty-training needs, etc. Highlight learning areas that may require more attention e.g. numeracy, literacy, character-building, etc. Agree on same method to work together to help the child.
6) Effective wake-up alarm
Suggestion: Start training your child to wake up at school timings a week prior to school reopening. This will help him/her to ease back into school term routine and enables him/her to adjust well.
7) Go through the rules again
Suggestion: Remind them of the Do's and Don'ts in areas like safety, social awareness, manners, etc.
Having said so, bear in mind that kids are highly adaptable.
They may adjust quicker and better than you think!
So relax and enjoy the rest of this festive period!