New commitments, responsibilities, schedules, friends, teachers, and routines: returning to school after a long vacation is a very important phase for the well-being and mindset of our children and us as parents.
A return to school with positive energy and the right attitude can make the entire school year a more enjoyable experience, helping to prevent negative experiences and moments of upset or anxiousness.
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1. Be positive
2. Re-establish a routine
3. Develop a sleep routine
4. Eliminate anxiety and stress
5. Do a trial run
1. Be Positive
Encourage your children to focus on the positive aspects of going back to school. Do some fun things together to prepare for school, such as:
- Spend an afternoon together getting all of your school prep done.
Involve your child in the preparation for school and ask your child to choose a new pair of shoes, rucksack or some new hair clips etc. This allows them to be excited to wear something that they have chosen. We’ve all experienced the dreaded ‘’I don't want to get dressed’’ in the morning right? So allowing them to be a part of the process can really help to overcome this.
When buying new school uniforms see how much they have grown since last year, a growing ruler chart is always good for this!
- Fill up their Pencil Case!
Because who doesn’t love new stationery?! Check out our Back to School Stationery Essentials and get 15% off when you sign up to our newsletter plus receive 50+ FREE activities, tips and advice.
From all things Tripod Grip Pencils to our award-winning activity workbooks - when using Love Writing Co. writing tools, studies show a faster, improved writing ability and improved pencil grip.
- Talk to your child about the NEW friends they will make.
Going back to school also means we get to see all our favourite teachers and friends, how nice it will be to see each other again after so long! Ask your child to tell their friends all the exciting things they got up to over the summer holidays or bring something in for show and tell.
Top tip - Ask another parent of your child's friends and ask if they would like to meet up over the holidays or keep in contact by writing pen-pal letters is a great idea.
- Use positive affirmations daily
Download, print and enjoy our FREE Positive Affirmation Cards - Using positive affirmation cards everyday is a great way to encourage self-love and confidence.
Add them to the fridge, walls, lunch boxes to encourage a positive mindset at home and in school. Developing good self-esteem and self-love will help your child to overcome obstacles and become more resilient.
2. Re-establish a routine
A few weeks before school starts, try to re-establish their morning routine to prevent those stressful mornings when they are back to school.
- Make your routine easier by packing their school bag the night before
- Making lunch together the day before is a great way to get children involved in their day-to-day activities. Allowing them to choose what they would like to eat for lunch allows them to feel important, engaged, listened to and in control when at school. Plus, it does wonders for avoiding those “I don't want to eat it!” tears.. We’ve all been there, ha!
- Give a try at laying out uniform neatly the night before school. Not only will this help you keep everything neat and tidy with a prepared environment, but also eliminates those early morning panics of “where is that!?! This means you can walk out of the house every morning on a positive note!
3. Develop a good sleep routine
- Set a routine bedtime for your child and try to keep to it every night. Having a consistent bedtime routine will help your child settle down and have a restful sleep.
- Pre-bedtime routines may involve a bath/shower, reading with them, tucking them in, and saying good-night to them.
- Have your child turn off electronic devices well before bedtime.
- Try to have the home as calm as possible when younger children are trying to fall asleep.
4. Eliminate anxiety and stress
It’s important to remind your child that they can talk to you about anything and remind them that returning to school is a wonderful chance for them to enjoy learning & expanding their knowledge with their friends.
Talk with your little one. Check in on them when you feel it’s right and acknowledge it is a difficult time for them and you are here for them.
If, like many parents, you are conscious of returning to school germs, then remind your child of the importance of washing their hands and good hand hygiene throughout their day to help to keep their health as best as possible
5. Do a trial run
After months of fun at home, going back to school might feel a little intimidating to your child. But that’s okay, we are here to help you to ease that separation anxiety as effectively as possible.
Consider a School Day Trial Run and call it something fun like the ‘pretend day out at school’ game! Making it fun and interactive can make your child feel really engaged and a part of the experience.
- Start the day by putting an early alarm on for the same time you would wake before going to school.
- Incorporate a good morning stretch and warm-up to get those muscles and brain activated for the day - Taking a walk or cycling to school is a great way to get some physical exercise
- Have a good healthy, nutritious breakfast. Eating a healthful breakfast has been shown to improve attention span, concentration and memory - all important for learning.
- You can either pretend your living room is a classroom for the day or you can get dressed and drive to your child’s school and explain the journey you will go on and this is where they will end up with their friends and teachers.
- If you want to get out and about, go to a local library and use a small quiet area to be your classroom for the day
6. Label, label and label again
One of the best tips we can give is to put your child’s name on absolutely everything!
Try to put them somewhere where they’re easy to find and show your child where they are so they can look for them.
If you don’t like sewing, you can get iron-on or stick-on labels or you could just write their name on the clothing labels with a marker pen.
And there we have it, our top 6 back to school tips. We hope you find them useful and feel inspired to try one new thing today to help prepare your child to go back to school.
In the upcoming weeks, we will be chatting about all things well-being, learning tips & tricks, handwriting and releasing more free resources.
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If you’re looking for handwriting resources to help your child who is starting school or to get back to school ready, check these out:
Handwriting and Letter Formation Practice Activity Workbooks
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