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The end of summer signals the advent of the monsoons and the start of a new academic year at school. I remember I used to hate going back to school after 2 months of fun-filled holidays. Getting back to the regular school routine after an idyllic summer holiday is a difficult transition in most households. New classes, curriculum, teachers, friends, new routine/schedule can intimidate any school going kid. While my daughter’s friend is shunning the thought of returning to school, I am glad that my daughter is looking forward to a brand new year.
Last year, I did not have it so easy. Luckily, I tried some time tested tricks sounded to me by my best friend and things have been smoother ever since. This year, I am advising my fellow mom on a peaceful transition from holidays to school!
Preps for the new academic year start at least a week or two before at my household. I avoid hectic outings or activities leaving me with enough time to prepare my child for school.
My daughter’s sleep timings go haywire in the summers. To get her body clock to adjust to sleep timings on school nights, I start drumming and practicing the ‘early to bed, early to rise’ mantra at least 10 days before. And on the first day of school, she is anything but cranky, tired or sleepy. (Research shows that pre-primary & primary school children need at least 9 hours of sound sleep.)
Incessant snacking all day long leads to irregular meals timings. The change to our school meal timings too happened gradually over a week or two. All the junk foods (snacks) were slowly junked and healthy snacks made their way on the plate. Nutritious food, plenty of fruits and water keeps the child active and helps achieve optimum energy levels.
Now-a-days, many malls or stores have back-to-school offer. My child chose all her essentials such as bag, tiffin box, water bottle, stationary of Dora the Explorer fame. I feel it helps to get your child to choose his own new school bag, tiffin box, water bottle and stationery supplies since the child will look forward to showing of his new back-to-school supplies to old and new friends.
Other tips include: Talk positively about the beginning of the school. Mention reuniting with old friends, making new friends, new bag, bottle, etc to ease the stress. A special fun activity or family dinner, a day or night before is a good way to associate with ‘getting-back-to-school’.
Every child is a person with his or her own individual personality. While some children take school easily, for some it takes longer, making the beginning of the year unusually more stressful. It is vital to understand and handle the situation with sensitivity than impatience or anger to ease the stress. The first two-three weeks are daunting and afterwards things gradually settle down.
Cross-posted at Scribblermom
Pic credit: Nishant (Used under a CC license)
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