How does your family start the school year on the right foot?
As every parent knows, back-to-school season is a busy one. Whether you have kids in multiple grades at multiple schools, in traditional or charter schools, getting back into the groove after a long summer break can be a challenge. We have a large community of parents advocating for their children in our San Antonio Charter Moms Facebook group, so we thought we’d seek out the wisdom of parents in the throes of it all.
Here are some of the ways parents just like you start their school year on the right foot with their kids:
Involve them in meal prep
“We cook our daughter’s favorite meals each night the first week of school. This year she’s helping with the meal planning and super excited! I also start retraining the routine 2 weeks before and put a cute note in her lunchbox every day for the first few weeks.”
––Holly Nistler Rodriguez
Give them a literary example
“My daughter starts kinder tomorrow. Tonight we read Adventure Annie Goes to Kindergarten–- even though we have read this book many times before––she was all excited to give us examples of what she can do like Annie and what she can’t otherwise she will get in trouble.”
––Jenifer OHearn
Transition back to a regular bedtime
“[D]uring the summer, our kids’ bedtime and wake up routines are totally relaxed.
We typically begin transitioning back to school night bedtime two weeks before the start of the school year. The kids go to bed 15 to 30 minutes earlier every night (even weekends) for those two weeks until we get back to normal bedtime. And I wake them up 10 to 15 minutes earlier every day, but I don’t wake them up at normal school morning times until the 1st day… wake up time is 5:30am.
We let the kids choose their breakfast food for the 1st week of back to school. However, they’ve become less excited about that tradition as they’ve become teenagers.”
––Renee Taylor Leachman, 11th and 8th graders attending Brooks Collegiate Academy
Talk to them about their goals
“Before each school year starts, we ask our kids what they want to accomplish in the coming school year. Then we ask them what they plan to do to reach those goals and what we can do to support them. We type it up – their goals, their commitments, and our commitments – and put it on the fridge as a touch point to use throughout the year.”
––Maggie McMahon, two 10th graders attending BASIS and Winston
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