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.

Read more of our blog posts?

More blogs from ÃÛÌÒapp

  • A teacher sat in a classroom with a child, sharing crayons with eachother and smiling

    Four ways to keep kindergarten ESL students focused all day

    By Heath Pulliam
    Reading time: 5 minutes

    Heath Pulliam is an independent education writer with a focus on the language learning space. He¡¯s taught English in South Korea and various subjects in the United States to a variety of ages. He¡¯s also a language learning enthusiast and studies Spanish in his free time.

    Those who have taught children anywhere between the ages of 4 and 8 know that one of the biggest challenges of getting through to them is keeping your presentation style interesting. As someone who taught ESL in South Korea to kindergarteners, there are a few factors that make keeping students engaged a challenge. In countries where students learn English, students often have a heavy courseload and high expectations. As a first-year teacher, I learned a lot about what worked and what didn¡¯t through trial and error. These are four methods that I consistently used to keep my students interested and engaged all day.

    Students are quick to lose focus at such a young age. You¡¯re not speaking their mother tongue and some parts of an ESL curriculum are less than exciting. With young students, you can¡¯t lecture your way through the material all day. Kindergarteners have a small window of focus and it must be capitalized on. The following methods are ones that worked for me and can be modified to cover any topic you¡¯ll run into in an ESL curriculum.

  • A teacher standing next to a student who is sat down, he has a pen and is gesturing to her work on the table.

    Assessing listening skills with the GSE

    By
    Reading time: 4 minutes

    In today¡¯s interconnected world, effective communication in English is more crucial than ever. As educators and language learners seek to measure and improve English proficiency, a resource like the Global Scale of English (GSE) offers a valuable framework for assessment. This blog post will explore how the GSE can be used to assess listening skills, providing insights into how it also helps tailor instruction and support language development.

    For listening skills, the GSE focuses on how well learners can understand spoken English in different contexts. It assesses comprehension at varying levels of complexity:

    Understanding simple information: At lower levels, learners are expected to understand basic information, such as simple instructions or everyday topics. The GSE provides learning objectives for how well learners can grasp essential details.

    Understanding main ideas: As proficiency grows, learners should be able to identify main ideas and key points in more complex spoken texts, such as conversations and broadcasts. The GSE outlines how well learners can extract important information from various sources.

    Understanding detailed information: At advanced levels, learners are expected to comprehend detailed and nuanced information, including implicit meaning and speaker intent. The GSE describes the level of detail and depth of understanding required at these stages.

    The GSE also shows how students engage in different operations of listening, from global comprehension, recognizing information and identifying specific information to extracting information. By taking this into account, teachers can monitor students¡¯ progress and assess their listening skills. An example will show this in action.

    Let¡¯s consider a level, say GSE 30-35 (equivalent to low A2 on the CEFR) and focus on how students process information. When checking a listening activity, rather than simply focusing on whether the answers are correct or incorrect, we can analyze our learners using the GSE and see what progress they are making and what we need to do as teachers to help them move on. Heres how:

  • Two friends stood over a book in a library reading it and smiling

    Why are English days named what they are?

    By
    Reading time: 4 minutes

    Ever wondered why Monday is called Monday or how Wednesday got its name? The names of the days of the week in English have fascinating origins, rooted in ancient history and steeped in mythology. Understanding these origins not only enriches our language ability but also provides intriguing insights into cultural heritage.