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.
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 Quick Back-To-School-Tips:
To continue the excitement and be fully prepared at home, here are some things to remember;
Print off your kiddo’s school supply list early. Supplies fly off the shelf, so getting to the store early is key! Presenting school supply shopping as an exciting activity that only happens once a year helps to build anticipation and celebrates the achievement of starting a new school year.
Prep backpacks a few weeks in advance. Making this an activity with your kiddo can help to encourage organization and alleviate anxiety as they’ll be ready to go with plenty of time. You can even do a trial run of waking up, going through the before-school routine, and getting to the bus stop on time to make the first day feel easy peasy!
Make room for the new year's calendar and schedules. Find a spot that's for you and your kiddos to see and get excited for all that’s coming up. Maybe it’s on the fridge, in their bedroom, or on a bulletin board somewhere accessible so nothing gets overlooked and you both feel involved with all that’s ahead.
Be prepared to take some notes and get all the information you can. Whether it's orientation, meet the teacher night, or reviewing the school calendar, writing down important information will help you to feel organized and ready to tackle the year’s agenda. You can even get a notebook dedicated to these notes that you can add to each school year.
Get back on a healthy sleep schedule if you have not stayed on one already. This is equally important for you and your kiddos! Sticking to a routine at home that ends with a set bedtime will help you and your little ones have a sense of consistency and help you both be your best selves each day.
Lastly, prepare a quiet space for your children to get schoolwork done at home. If you haven’t noticed by now, we are huge fans of routine! Having a space dedicated to after-school work will continue to provide structure and help your children stay focused on the tasks they need to complete each night. It also helps to separate school and home, incentivizing time to unwind outside of the at-home school zone once they’ve finished their work.
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!