Gearing Up for the New School Year
August is the perfect time to get the ball rolling for the new school year.
At Lil’ People’s World, our school-age programs help build skills all year long, so that getting ready for the new year is achieved just one step at a time. Each of our centers wants to share their best advice for prepping for the new school year to start. These are great ideas to check out even if you don’t have a school-age child. It’s coming fast, and the preparation clock is ticking!
At our Bellevue location, our school-age classroom is getting a facelift and some new toys to interact with, yay!
In our new and improved setting, our teachers help all the children prepare by opening up one-on-one and group conversations about the upcoming school year.
To make sure there are no surprises when the first day of school rolls around, we’ve created activities to prepare for scenarios such as mastering fire drills and classroom manners, and at-home practices like going to bed on time to help set a routine for rocking the upcoming school year.
We know that the school year can be a whirlwind, so we aim to begin setting up a comfortable structure that can be practiced now and year-round.
There’s back to school prep to be done for everyone here at Lil People’s world, including our van!
Kirkland will be taking a fresh spin on our regular routines to ensure all the kiddos are ready for the new school year to start.
Our school-agers take great pride in their readiness for school and always try to look their best each day. Creativity is very important to us, so art projects are a given, and used as a way to bring a little educational fun to the day! Supplies are always available for the children to utilize here.
We use other activities to engage the children while helping them prepare for the year ahead, like giving our LPW van a bath while talking about all the new routines and schedules coming up. Each new grade a child attends is a little scary and exciting at the same time. We let them know all that they will have to look forward to in the upcoming year, which often alleviates some of the anxiety.
Our Seattle LPW gears up by having class meetings, addressing expectations, and reinforcing positive behaviors.
With the end of August just around the corner, the new graduating Pre-K children will get a head start with the early Kindergarten Jumpstart program. These kiddos will be more than ready to get the school year started!
To close out an exciting summer and shift the kiddo’s excitement toward the school year ahead, we have a celebration that documents all of their hard work and practices that they’ll take with them on the first day. We’ll help the children say farewell to a great summer and cheers to an exciting new school year!
Our North Seattle students enjoying their end-of-summer art projects while preparing for the new school year!
----------------Our Quick Back-To-School----------------
To continue the excitement and be fully prepared at home, here are some things to remember;
The beginning of the school year doesn’t have to be scary. Starting slowly to implement a healthy school-year routine will go a long way when the time comes. Communicating the importance of this routine and discussing what the school year will bring helps to give your children a sense of ease and build their classroom confidence. Start with a small plan of action with words and pictures for your children to follow along with that will grow into a learned routine.
Remember that it may not seem as big of a change for you, but for a child, it’s a new world of transition.
Be sure to communicate with your center if you have any concerns with routine, development, or how to help proceed smoothly into the school year. Ask your child’s teacher if there is anything you can do to get them ready or communicate with them if you have some words of advice. And, as always, enjoy all the moments – they go by so quickly!
