With all the promise of fun and frolic that it holds, vacations are something that every kid looks forward to. However, the problem arises just a few days before the vacations end, as after the weeks full of amusement, it is hard to get the kids to go back to school with the same enthusiasm and interest. This is where even the enticementof seeing school friends again or learning cool new things don’t work much.
Parents frequently complain that the kids start to make excuses just as the day of the school approaches. As such, convincing them to go back to school sometimes takes a bit too much time which results in them lagging behind in studies.
So what to do? How to make the kids feel all excited about joining back the school post vacations? No worries! Here are a few ideas you can adopt to help make your kids school-ready:
Start Talking About the School
Start to look for opportunities to talk to the kids about the year to come. Tell them what they can expect and in the process, try to address their concerns. You can try talking about your own ‘back to school’ memories and share anecdotes about your school and friends. Telling them how much you miss those days will make them realize the emotional attachment that they share with their school and will help in doing away with all their reluctance at going back to school. Let your children know that going to school post vacations is the beginning of a fresh start and not an end to all the fun.
Address Their Anxiety Issues
Preparing children to go back to school is a lot about addressing their anxiety issues. Let your child freely discuss with you what worries them about going back to school and try to calm them down whilechattingabout the situation. For instance, if your child is worried about not getting enough time to play, tell the kid that you will certainly help him/her make time in the daily schedule to have enough of fun and relax. Besides, tell the child that he/she will also get a chance to play with his/her friends during the recess and in between the lectures.
Plan a Little ‘Back-to-School’ Shopping Trip
Even the most reluctant child will have his/her spirits uplifted at the idea of getting new supplies for school. Take him on a back to school shopping spree and buy new school supplies like colorful exercise books, pens, pencils, and so on. Getting the supplies labeled and ready-to-go not only helps you to stay organized for school with enough time on your hand but also generates excitement in young minds. Children love new stationery and the thought that they will be allowed to use all of these only when the school reopens will make them wait for the day to come instead of resisting it.
Reintroduce the Normal Routines
Vacations get the rules relaxed to a great extent.Children are allowed to go to bed and wake up a little late. However, you must not let this go on for too long and start introducing the normal routine at least a week before the day of the school reopening. Get the child back into the flow of school hours by making him/her sleep and wake up early and also try to make him/her sit for the studies at the same time as he/she would be doing at school. A sudden change in schedule on the very first day of the school otherwise makes it difficult for children to cope up.
Begin a Fun Countdown
Try using a cell phone app or calendar, or you can even use charts and fun stickers for younger kids, to help countdown the days leading up to the start of the school. Make the last week of the countdown the most exciting for them by creating a kind of calendar and wrapping seven small gift parcels for them. You can also wrap the new school supplies along with some treats in the parcels. Keep a parcel for giving to the child when he/she comes back from school on the first day and that will give him/her something to eagerly look forward to.
We, at the K.R. Mangalam School, understand the reluctance of young ones in going back to the routine of regular school days. When it comes to kids, forceful goading is something that never works and this is where both the school and the parents need to work together in getting their excitement back. We, on our part, try to ease them into the process as much as possible by not putting too much academic pressure on them for the initial few weeks. They are welcomed to school with big smiles and the focus is kept on helping them glide into the environment easily and happily. The homely and welcoming environment at the school helps them relax and come back to schedule gradually.
It is again the time when the young learners are about to join us back at school for another wonderful year full of adventures, explorations, and excitement and we really look forward to welcoming them back!