4 steps to make sure the transition back to school goes well

Donatella Fitzgerald MBE
Donatella Fitzgerald MBE
Two school girls getting onto. a schoolbus

As we start thinking about returning to school, the big question for teachers and parents is: How can we help our children get off to a smooth start????

After the long break, students might be keen to see their friends again. But it's not always easy to get back into the class routine. It's especially difficult when students are moving into a new?class or?are facing important exams.?

So what can you do to support children in transitioning back to school at the beginning of the academic year??

Here are 4 steps to help them get off to a great start.??

1. Be organized and create routines

Organizing is what you do before you do something, so that when you do it, it's not all mixed up.? ¨C A. A. Milne?

Have a "family meeting" to brainstorm the routines for the school year,?e.g., tidying room, getting school clothes/uniform/bag ready the evening before, homework routines, family?meal times and exercise. Ensure each member of the family has input into the routine too. Create a chart with the routines so everyone can see what has been agreed upon and how they are being adhered to.

2. Start bedtime routines early

Early?to?bed?and?early?to?rise,?makes?a?man healthy,?wealthy, and?wise. ¨C Benjamin Franklin?

Agreeing on firm bedtimes during the school week is very important for everyone in the family.??

If children and teenagers do not get enough sleep, it can negatively impact their health?and academic achievement. It's important that they are aware of this too.??

In an ideal world, we should ensure that adults and children are not exposed to any form of screen time for at least 30 minutes to one hour before bedtime. This will help everyone sleep better.??

Start the back-to-school sleep transition gradually. To help your child adjust, move bedtime?up by 30 to 60 minutes?at a time over the course of a few days or a week before the start of school so the transition from a later bedtime to an earlier one is progressive.?

3. Talk about homework and teach organizational skills?

When it's obvious that the goals cannot be reached, don't adjust the goals, adjust the action steps. ¨C Confucius?

Organization needs to be taught and practiced. As children get older, homework usually increases. Take an active interest in your child's homework.??

Parents can be supportive by demonstrating organizational skills and helping children with time management. Assist them with creating a plan for their homework and encourage your child (whatever age) to have a study plan of some sort and to set goals for their homework which are SMART:?

  • Specific ¨C Describe in detail what activities they are going to do.?
  • Measurable ¨C How will they know when they are progressing/finished???
  • Achievable ¨C Do they have the skills and resources to get to their goal???
  • Relevant ¨C How does this goal connect to short and long-term targets??
  • Time-bound ¨C Set a concrete deadline.

Teach them how to approach homework with a "strategy". How much homework do they have? How long will it take to do it? Prioritize urgent homework and do more difficult things when they are less tired.??

Make sure there's adequate space in your house and set up a homework-friendly area that is well?lit, and?has a table with enough room to put their pens and books. Of course, this is preferably somewhere quiet.??

Also, it's important that parents are motivators and monitors and that they try to make themselves available for advice. Always praise children for their work and efforts. If you spot any problems, try and address them. Keep distractions to a minimum at home while they are doing their homework.

4. Make mealtimes quality family time: listen and share one good thing about each day?

Kids who grow up having family dinners, when they're on their own, tend to eat more healthily.? ¨C Anne Fishel??

A meal around the table can bring to the entire family and be an important opportunity for daily interaction. Sitting down to eat as a family provides the opportunity to have an influence over both short and long-term family?health, and?can help children establish resilience and the ability to cope with the demands of life as we know it now and in the future. It can also be an opportunity to introduce mindful eating too ¨C being more aware of what and how we are eating.

Additionally, this time together allows for members to talk and share things about their day and also offers an opportunity to establish a strong and powerful bonding experience. How can we make sure family mealtimes are quality time? ?

  • Be attentive and offer undivided attention during this time.??
  • Turn all modern technology off during the meal so everyone is focused on each other.??
  • Talk to each other about topics such as: What lessons do you have today (at breakfast)? What did you enjoy about today? What did you have for lunch (while sharing the evening meal). Tell me one thing you learned today. What made you laugh today? What made you happy today???
  • Listen mindfully to your child's thoughts and worries (if any).?
  • Encourage each member to talk about one good thing that has happened to them that day. This lets them know you are there for them.??
  • Assign mealtime jobs to involve everyone, e.g.: setting and clearing the table and putting away the dishes.

However, sometimes it's not possible to share meal times during the week so plan at least one on the weekend if possible.?

The benefits of any small moment of time can have long-lasting positive influences on your child's mental and physical health. Children model adult?behavior?and if they see you eating and engaging positively with them and others, they will carry this into their own lives.?

With a bit of preparation, the leadup and transition back to school can be smooth and enjoyable not only for children but also for the rest of the family.

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    Mindfulness activities for kids to reduce stress

    By Amy Malloy

    How can we help children (and ourselves) deal with turbulent situations?

    As humans, we are programmed to position ourselves according to the constants around us: people, structures and boundaries. When those constants shift, it can be unsettling for adults and children.

    Sometimes we find ourselves in unprecedented situations, and we each have our own approach to managing things. If you feel confused and without direction because of a turbulent situation, please know that that is okay.

    We¡¯ll look today at why that is, to help us understand ourselves a little more and why these simple mindfulness activities can help us navigate it.

    What causes social stress?

    There may be many reasons for feeling stressed in life, but during turbulent times in society, it is often due to not feeling safe.

    Something in our environment is alerting our survival instinct. This makes our brains produce stress hormones, which get us ready to fight the threat, run from it, or freeze until it¡¯s gone away.

    The threat might be to our physical or even social survival ¨C and the two are linked. Things can feel even scarier when we also feel isolated from our social group, which keeps us protected from that threat.

    Human beings are social by nature. We live and work in communities, we connect through love and empathy and we protect each other. There¡¯s truth to the saying?¡°there¡¯s safety in numbers¡±.

    But it¡¯s not just about safety. We also define ourselves by comparing ourselves to others and working out what we are not.

    Research has found that we identify deeply with our role in society and the ¡®pack¡¯ to which we belong. This holds deep ties with our sense of safety, contentment and self-esteem. If the boundaries by which we define and position ourselves have shifted or continue to shift, we will feel unsafe, threatened and therefore stressed.

    Are children affected by social stress in the same way?

    If we then apply this to children, the constants to whom they look for security are the adults in their life. If the adults are behaving differently, the children will feel a shift and feel unsafe and stressed too. If they don¡¯t have their friends alongside them for social positioning, this too can lead to them feeling confused and uncertain.

    Here are some key ways we can help:

    Communicating and listening

    Children may often lack the language to express what they are feeling, or even to recognize it themselves. Therefore, we must offer ways to help them make sense of the world around them, to help them feel safe and to help express their concerns.

    Communication provides the necessary social interaction and models for them on how to handle the new situation. It firms up their boundaries, and provides a safe space where they feel listened to and acknowledged and this, in turn, helps diffuse their stress.

    The activity below is a lovely way to invite children to express any worry they might be feeling, mindfully and with support ¨C and give them something to do with their feelings. It also has the benefit of helping them breathe fully and slowly, which will calm down their nervous system.

    Breath activity: Worry bubbles

    1. Sit together and invite your child to put their palms together.
    2. Invite them to take a big breath in. As they breathe in, they can draw their palms further and further apart, spreading their fingers as they imagine blowing up a big bubble between their hands.
    3. Invite them to whisper a worry into the bubble.
    4. Invite them to blow the breath out nice and slowly. As they breathe out, they can imagine blowing the bubble (and the worry) away with a big sigh.
    5. Twinkle the fingers back down to the lap, and start again, either with the same worry or a new one

    Helping them find a safety anchor inside themselves

    By helping children focus on breathing, we can teach them that even if things feel wobbly around them, their breath is always there. The act of focusing on the breath also helps settle the fight or flight branch of their nervous system into a calmer, more balanced state.

    Breath Activity: Counting breaths

    1. Invite your child to sit with you.
    2. Invite them to place their hands on their tummy and breathe in slowly so they push into their hands, counting slowly up to four.
    3. As they breathe out, invite them to count up to six, as they slowly empty the belly and their hands lower back down.
    4. Continue until they feel calmer. You can do this every morning or evening to help sustain balance. With younger children, they might like a teddy on their tummy to push up and down!

    These two activities can be lovely daily practices to try and provide some safety and structure to your child or students¡¯ mental health right now. They are also enjoyable activities to try for yourself ¨C you may like to increase the in and out count of the breath a little bit for an adult breath.