Tuesday, January 4, 2011

The End of Vacation, Back to School

Kids drag their heels when returning to school after the long and happy Christmas break. Think like a kid, what you would most like to do when you get back to school? How can you ease the transition from fun, free time to getting back to work and learning? This year gather some ideas for the first day back after Christmas vacation to turn those somewhat glum faces into bright, joyous ones.

It is important that the entire family be prepared for the return to the school schedule. Preparation includes:

A. Purchasing pencils, notebooks, clothes, etc needed for the start of school.

B. For anxious children who experience separation with great difficulty it is important to be reassuring that they will return home at the end of the day and the family will still be there for them.

C. Children need the reassurance that parents will help them with their homework.

D. It is important that children get plenty of rest for the return to school. This means they must resume going to bed earlier than may have been permitted during vacation.

E. Parents need to help children with their clothes and lunches for their return to school.

It is important that parents set up structured procedures for children during the morning with each child's chores and expectations clearly delineated. This includes clearly set roles for each parent during the early morning. Both parents need to help get children dressed, fed and out of the house in a timely manner. Morning chaos promotes anxiety and anger for parents and children.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.