Momentum - Business to Business Online Magazine MOMENTUM August 2019 | Page 18

JODY CERISANO
Huntington Learning Center of League City
832.864.2769
Back to School TIPS
I
t’s back to school time! Is your child ready to head
back into the classroom? If not, don’t worry. There
are many things parents can do in the final weeks
of summer to help their children get prepared.
• Reinstate routines. Going to bed late and
sleeping in? Way more screen time than usual?
Summer is meant for relaxing, but reinstating a
routine is a good plan. Make adjustments a couple of
weeks before the first day of school, and remember
that it is fine to start small.
o Move back
bedtime a little
each night to get
closer to school-
year bedtime.
o Have your child
start setting an
alarm that’s closer
to a typical school
day wakeup time.
o Encourage your
child to get
back to a nightly
reading habit.
o Hang a family
calendar in a
visible location
and start putting
fall dates on it,
including first
day of school,
fall break,
extracurricular activities, etc.
o Talk about the school-year routine, including
homework time and study time.
• Review last year’s work. Just 20 minutes a day
reviewing last year’s workbooks and assignments can
help your child refresh skills learned last year and
mitigate the “summer slide” that is unfortunately all
too common. Have him or her practice math facts
and skills by using flash cards and completing math
worksheets. A great website for creating printable
math worksheets is www.math-aids.com.
• Get your child mentally prepared. Talk through last
year: what went well, and what did not go well?
What would your child like to change about the
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upcoming year? Discuss your role and how you will
support your child’s goals.
• Consider a tutoring or Study Skills program. If your
child struggled last year or has nerves about being
able to keep up or reach higher expectations this
year, enrolling your child into a learning program that
identifies your child’s strengths and weaknesses could
make a big difference. Conversely, if your child did
not struggle academically but tends to procrastinate
and is disorganized, enrolling him or her in a study
skills program may be the key to their continued
success in school.
• Be positive. Going back to school isn’t something
every child looks forward to, so it helps when parents
set an optimistic tone. Even if there are things your
child dreads, be enthusiastic and frame them as
opportunities for improvement. Let your child know
that you’re always there to support him or her, and
that you believe in your child’s abilities.
Back to school time does not have to be stressful.
Take a few small steps to make the transition smoother
and remind your child of the positive parts of school,
like seeing friends, learning new things, and meeting
new teachers.