First Steps News
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 20, 2007
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NEW SET OF SCHOOL
PREPAREDNESS TIPS FOR PARENTS
This
week’s tips help parents establish a back-to-school
routine
Countdown to Kindergarten Tip #6:
Help Get Children into a School Routine
The new school year is just around the corner! Easing children
off their summer schedules and acclimating them to a school
routine helps get them ready mentally and physically for the
start of school. Especially for kindergarteners, establishing
a “back to school” routine toward the end of summer
can help build children’s confidence about starting
school.
Getting Back into the School Routine
• As the first day of school approaches,
move bedtime back to an earlier time.
• In the summer, it’s easy to slip into having
meals at irregular hours. Start to make meal times more
regularly and aligned with the school year schedule.
• Put a positive spin on going back to school. Talk
about the fun things your child will be learning, the old
friends he or she will see and the new friends he or she
will make.
• Don’t plan big trips right before the start
of school.
• Establish school-day schedules for homework, entertainment,
baths and bedtime.
• Arrange play-dates with friends from school to re-establish
connections that may have been dropped for the summer, or
to create new ones.
Confirm Your After-School Care Arrangements
• Make sure your child knows where
he or she is going after school.
• Double-check on your care plans and touch base with
the provider before school starts.
• If your child will be home alone after school, establish
safety rules for locking doors and windows, and for answering
the door and the telephone. Make sure he or she knows to
check in with you or another adult when arriving at home.
Control the TV
• As you get ready to go back to
school, start to put limits on watching television if you
haven’t done so during the summer.
• Set an example by not watching a lot of TV yourself.
Have family activities such as reading or board games.
• Choose wisely. There are some TV programs that can
be a valuable tool for learning and expanding one's awareness
of the world.
Source: GreatSchools.net
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